DDDDDDnDaaDnnnDDDDnaannnnnnDDDDD D D D D D D D ^o^^^s^ D D D D D sd^ h\ D D D > || riw Is n D D * «a\WH /S ^ D D ■p iSS^*y!ff ^ D D D '^^Si^** D D D D D D D D D D UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS D D D D LIBRARY D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D a D D D D D S^— - D D D D □ D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D DDDDDnnDDDDDDnanaDnDnnnaaDDDDDDD LIBRARY 1 MAS23^ .r^TTS ! c^m t^mmiw^' THE V-...1. ^:^;-' NEW ENGLAND FARMER: A MONTHLY JOURNAL, DEVOTED TO AGEICULTUEE, HORTICULTURE, AKD THEIR KIXDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES, AND ILLUSTRATED WITH NUilEROUS BEAUTIFUL EXGRATIXGS. THB PBiaCE FKiyCIPIXS OF AGBICCLTUmE. 1. The soil ought to be kept dry; or, in other words, fixe from all superfluons moistnre. 2. The soil ought to be kept clean ; or, in other words, free from noxious weeds. 8. The soil ought to be kept rich ; or, in other words, every particle of enriching material which can bo collected ought to be applied, so that the soil may be pieserved in a state capable of yielding good •rops. Fessejtdes. SIMON BROWN, EDITOR VOLUME XV. BOSTON: PUBLISHED BY NOURSE, EATON AND TOLMAN, 103 TTASIII^rGrXON' STREET. 18d3. Per N444- 1 1 3 /;, A I*N^DEX TO THE FIFTEENTH V0LU3IE. Abortion in cows, . . . 113, 240,321, 270 Academv, Westfonl, 31 Accounts, importance of keeping, . . .67 Agriculture in common scliools, 13, 15, 23, 35, 58, 77, 88, 190, 221, 244; knowledge of, 54; college for in Penn., 89 ; the great intei'cst, 126; in the State of Maine, 130; delegates of State Board of, 131 ; as an employment, 221 ; honored by the Chinese, 303 ; depurt- mcm of in Washington 323 Animals, kindness to, 31, 388 ; choice of, for fat- tening, 373 ; have they reasoning power, . 376 Appetite, instinct of, 331 Apple, facts about the, 37 ; crop of 18G2, 83 ; 12 l)est, 119; the River, 132 ; value and prof- it from the, 179, 182 ; trees, decay of in Illi- nois, 184 ; for a name, 243 ; names of, 251 ; keeping the, 347 ; price of, 368 Aqueduct, about laj-iug an, 97, 122 ; of pine locrs, 120; cement for, 121 ; how to make an, 178 Artichoke, the Jerusalem, . . . .188 Ashes and night-soil, 180 ; leached, . .193 Asparagus, how to cultivate affd how to cook, 132 Auctioneer, a witty, 321 Barn, how to estimate capacity of, 25 ; hints on bui ding a, 115; about a, 146 ; how shall I build a,' 187; a corn, 171, 183, 190, 238 ; wash for a, 191 ; cellar under a, and water for, 326 Bar, Irish, in olden times, . . . .312 Bark, hemlock, 344 Barometer, a clieap and truthful, 175; use of the, 193 ; a new, ..... 305 Bath and bathing, 28 Battle song 359 Beans, Lima, 130 f still running, . . 338, 370 i?e.avcr, habits of the, 50 ; near Sacramento, . 142 Bec'iuanas, child-life among the, . . . 138 Beer, sap, 1 10 ; liow to make, 13! ; how to make corn, .231 Bees, wintering, 55; must be looked after, . 103 Beet, as a forage crop, 179 ; turnip, culture of the, . " 323 Birds of New England, 26 ; setting up, 158, 210 ; and insects, 312 ; divorce among, . 359 Births, premature, 82,113,240,321,370 Book, herd, American, 120 ; new, 143, 140, 156, 17(1, 202, 253, 275, 284 ; lessons without, 173; from reiiresentativcs to constituents, . .193 Bone, pure flour of, 147: savi^ the, 149, 174, 207 ; the b -st way to u'; fodder, how to cure, . . . 327 Cov,-, abor.io-.i in the, 113, 240, 321 ; a kicking, l.iO, 174, ISo, 202; and a pig, 180; congh in a 2.53 Crab, eye of tlic 24 Crop, what is the most profitable, 172; av- eracre of, 227 ; harvesting the, 228, 314 ; of 1863 Cucund)er, jjickling the, ..... 267 Cunaut, culture of the, 180 Cuttings, how to .'end, 155 IV INDEX. D Dahlia, hints about the, 307 Dairies in Maine, 122; American and Scotch compared, 302 Dariinjrton, Dr. William, death of, . . .189 Date, the, as bread, 254 Days, luckr . .• ^^ Developmeat of resources the parent of civili- zation, 281 Dictionary, farm, 356 Disease, obscure sources of, ... • 222 Draining, . . 52, 186, 267, 270, 334, 379 Dog, guns, and rods, 114; fidelity of a, 143; save the, 186 ; law in Vermont about the, . 222 E Eagle, old in the nest, Education, physical, 44 ; agricultural. Egg plant, - . . , . Electricity for plants, , Elm, dignity of the. 22 56 181 38 380 F Fair, farmers', 177; Vermont State, 298, 348, 354 Farm, the, as a manufactory, 255 ; shall I buy a, 285 Farmer, and the war, 65 ; profession of the, 106 ; wife of, overtaxed, 141, 153; our north- ern, 144 ; New England, for April, notes upon the, 186; frauds on the, 277; vs. mechanics, 286 ; women, 287 ; one-horse, 308, 311 ; walks and talks with Essex county, 345 ; the work- ing, and the Illinois, 352 ; the, a manufacturer, 381 ; why discontented, .... 386 Farming, profits of, 17 ; Beecher's book on, 47 ; book, 119 ; in New Mexico, 275; in Florida, 282 ; by steam, 304 Feet, warm, in cold weather, 38 ; take care of the, . . 52, 157 Felon, remedy for a, 155 Fence, Smith's patent, 33 ; on railroad, . 98,190 Field, battle, how nature covers up a, . . 346 Flax, barley, wheat, 28 ; culture of, 42, 62, 81, 126, 171 Flesh as food, 211 Floor, echoing, 152; painted, . . . .347 Flour, how to select, 296 Flowers, how to preserve in form and color, 280 ; on the table, 3U6 ; a growing love for, . . 375 Fly, Hessian, the, ...... 312 Fodder, save the, 93 ; increase the, . . .102 Food, cooked and uncooked, .... 208 Forest, a Brazilian, ..... 306 French' economy in the, 21 ; Judge 11. F. 69, 109 Frost in tiie tropics, 356 ; and drought in Illi- nois, 380 Fruit, year of, 1 9 ; keeping through the \vintcr, 34. 128 ; culture and profits of, 170, 274 ; how to keep, .302 ; crop of, 314 G Garden, work in the, Gardening, woman's, Girls, healthy. Glanders in the horse. Glue for ready use, Gooseberry bushes, how to prune. Grain, production of. Grafting and wax for. Grape, culture of the, 14, 85, 112 ; a diseases, 20 ; a new, 38 ; and peai a cure for Sj 46 ; new 173 61 75 225 30 141 18 186 varieties of the, 275 ; culture, wines, and wine making, 309, 317, 336, 349 ; Rogers' Hybrid, and others, 356 ; for the million, 356 ; trellis for the 372 Grass, Hungarian, 57, 96, 97, 107, 158, 311, 316 : foul meadow, 180; best time for cutting, 243 ; land, top-dressing, 294, 378 ; millet, 311 ; blue, in Kentucky, 314 ; crop, importance of the, 341 ; a large crop of, .... 345 Grennell, James S 19 Guano, adulterated, 220 H Ham, how to preserve, 238 Hands, chapped, cure for, 66, 218; and feet, how to cure blisters on, . . . .95 Harness, how to take care of, . . . .110 Hay, harvesting, cost of, 303 ; field, thonghts in the, 305 ; salting of, . . . 339, 351, 389 Haymaker, city, 288 Hai-vest, the, 377 Health, vinegar, wood fires, cooking, 50 ; in hot weather how to preserve, . . . .310 Hedge, as a shelter, 171 ; what kind is best, . 180 Heifers, time for them to come in, . . , 138 Herring, use of the, 22 Hills, letter from the, 366 Holdfost, in cattle, 379 Home after business hours, 22 ; love of, . . 382 Hong Kong, China, . . . . .11 Ho nev, large deposit of, . . . . .31 Hop, crop of the, for 1862, .... Horse, and man, compared, 10; to cure crib-biting in the, 21 ; grooming and feeding the, 54 ; in- telligence of the, 63 ; the army, 74 ; film on the eye of a, 95 ; dry meal for the, 120, 152 ; a sick, 180; poll-evil in the, 195 ; shoeing the, 205 ; a lame, 2§7 ; ring-bone on the, 248 ; founder in the, 269 ; medicine for the, 273 ; heaves m, 280 ; number of the lost in battle, 287 ; warts on the, 289 ; sand-crack on foot of the, 336 ; a roaring, 353 ; northern and Eouthera compared, 355 ; scratches in, . . 391 Horse-hoe, or rotary spader, .... 272 Horticultural notes, . . . 290, 338, 366 House, farm, and outbuildings, 274 ; school, . 289 Husk, corn, paper from, 202 Hydropathy in veterinary practice, . . . 385 Icelandic " skier," 183 Idc, Timothy, death of, . . ^ . . .219 Insanity, decrease of, during the war, . . 295 Itch, barn 152 Ivy, cure for poison by, 255, 305 ; caution about use of, 335 Japanese, oddities of the. Kerosene oil, in a fluid lamp, . Ivitchen, hints from the, . Kohl-rabi, culture and uses of, . 205 . 38 . 378 . 225 Z>abels for fruit-trees. 147 INDEX Labor, two systems of, 211 Ladies' Department ; Origin of the Moss Rose, and training the child's body, 135 ; patching and darning, 199 ; the baby walks, 231 ; dress- ing with taste, 231 ; keeping company with flowers, . ♦ 263 Legislative, agricultural meetings, 100, 111, 123, 152, 158, 164 Leominster, sketch of, 350 Letter, an up-country, 315 Life, how to be fitted for, 140; art of success in, • . . . ^ 243 Lime, its uses and action, 33 ; superphosphate of, ... . . .71, 146, 157 Linseed, and its oil, 195 Lithographers, an hour with the, . , .197 Locust, yellow, 92 Love, youthful, 307 VM Machinery, among the, 185; farm, 247, 307; for binding grjiin, 364 Manures, 64; top-dressing with, 98, 119; haul- ing out in winter, 120; fermentation of, 148; spreading from the cart, 255 ; preparing and applying, 276 ; quantity and quality of, 278, 318; oyster-shelk as a, 349; skill in man- aging, 357; importance of, 377 ; covering of, 381 Mare, in foal, ....... 368 Market, cattle, report of, for December, 40 ; for January, 72 ; for February, 104 ; for March, 136; for April, 168; for May, 200; for June, 232; for July, 264; for August, 296; for September, 328 ; for October, 360 ; for No- vember, 392 ; going to, .... 238 Marsh, salt, 121 Martynia, or unicorn plant, . . . .181 Meadow, an old hassock, reclaimed, 293 ; a puzzling one, . . . . . .321 Men and horses compared, 10 ; mar^'els of, . 379 Meteorology, record of, for January, 133 ; for February, 157; for March, 194;' for April, 299 ; for May, 231 ; for July, 267 ; for Au- gust, . 263 Microscopic writing, 272 Milk for butter, 38 ; boiling, why it foams, 60 ; how to keep sweet, 86; business, 119; low price of, 121, 161 Milking, patience in, 225 Millet, culture of, 71,311 Jlill, portable, 345 Mole, ground, and gopher, .... 367 Jlountains, Green, among the, .... 175 Muck, 66, 146 Muffins, com, how to make, . . . .91 Mulching, 173 Mushrooms, how to cultivate, . . . .117 N Xails, why called 7G 207 241 114 21 242 288 260 151 48 203 358 383 Tea, culture of in California, .... Tillage, good, is manure, , . . . . Trees, pruning forest, 30 ; g'rowth of forest, 38 ; apple, renovation of old, 59 ; for shade, orna- ment and profit, 145 ; what to plant, 146 : ap- ple, dec.iy of, in Illinois, 184; protector, a new, 194; cherry, 207; and vines, roots of. 267 212 208; plum, salt for, 224; wash for, 235; pear, re-rooting on quince stock, 240; fruit, when to trim, 255 ; planting, 359 ; apple, sand around, 377 Toad, about the, 32 Tobacco, in Hampshire coaftty, 358 ; and wheat, 375 ; shall we raise, .... 377 Tomato, plants, how to raise, 181 ; com cakes, 288 ; training the, 292 ; need of sunshine on the, •.347 Turkey, bronze, 158 Turnip crop, how to raise a, . . . * 70, 97 Typo setters, wicked, 144 U United States, triumph of. 347 Vegetable, growth, 14, 139 ; garden, seeds of, . 204 Ventilation, 214 Vermin on colts, calves, and cattle, 63, 82, 120, 199, 248 . 298 . 50 . 311 . 361 146 Vermont State Fair, Vinegar, Visitor, a pleasant, . Volume, our next, . W 158 281 389 61 253 Warts, cure for, 18 ; on cattle. Water, about raising, .... Weather, the, 93, 188; signs of the, Webb, Jonas, death of, Weedcr and sower, Harrington's, Weeds, killing by law, 280; fighting them reso- lutelv, 370 West, affairs at the, . . . .217, 249 Wheat, culture of, 155, 177; winter, 289; crop in Southern Illinois, 292 ; show of at Roches- ter, N. Y., 294 ; after sorghum, 301 ; premium on winter, 32) , 326 ; of my own raising, . 365 Whiskey and newspapers, . . . .33 Wives, farmers', overtaxed, . . . 141, 153 Wine, elderben'ies for, 390 AVood, how to split, 129; to prevent the rotting of, 216 Wool, in Micliigan, for 1863, 90; grower's or- gan, 106; influence of food upon quality of,' 108; sheep-eating, 120, 131; growing, 132, 150, 163 ; board of trade in, 213 ; deception in sale of, 250 ; growing in Michigan, 278 ; im- portation of in 1802, 307 ; large load of, 313 ; grower, experience of a, 318; in Boston, 326 ; price of, 305 ; goat's Women, with rakes .and spades, 161 ; English, 176; true, 179; mission of, 199; farming, 229, 287 ; who arc the patriotic, 239 ; what they can do, 267 ; long skirts of the, . Worm, canker, 250 ; cut, 251 ; a new. 379 376 278 Yankee, the universal, Yarn from milkweed, Year, new, duties of the, 43 ; a happy new. Yokes, about the use of, Youth's dep.artment, a game for little boys ; why the sea is salt ; a boy's letter ; weeds and flowers, 353 141 80 95 134 INDEX vn ILLUSTRATIONS. A Beautiful Cotswold Buck, . R. A. Smith's Patent Farm Fence, . Two Beautiful Cotswold Ewes, Whittemorc's Patent Vegetable Cutter, Schoolcy's Patent Iceberg Refrigerator, Training the Tomato, American Purple Egg Plant, , The Martynia, or Unicom Plant, Four Pure Cotswold Lambs, . The Buckeye Mower and Reaper, Excellent Winter Squashes, A Horse Pitchfork, . 176 16 33 49 81 161 177 181 181 184 192 209 216 An Undcrdrain Outlet and Trap, The Horse with a Cold, . The Custard Squash, Ringbone on the Horse's Foot, Quiltor in the Horse's Foot, The Horse Hoe, or Rotary Spader, A Horse with Warts, Sandcrack in the Horse's Foot, Roaring Horses, South Down Buck, Archbishop, Eaton's Premium Sheep Rack, 224 225 241 248 257 273 289 337 353 368 385 POETRY. Aatumn and Winter, . . . ... 19 Trust, 30 Old Winter is Coming, 51 A Snow Storm, 58 A Song of the Wind, 60 The Inner Calm, 69 God Speed the Plow, 103 The Old Farm House, 142 If we Knew, ....... 158 God's Plan, 184 A Song of May, 191 Delicious Spring, 194 The Baby Walks I The Baby Walks 1 . .231 New Grass, 235 The Guide Post, ..,,,. 242 Clover, . . . .,*•#. 254 Sunset after a Shower, * ^ '-^i- » . 287 Summer Beauties, ...#.,. 295 Nature's Music, . .<■»•». 301 My Field, . . . ► ^ » .311 The Back Bam Door, . . , . .316 Our Village at Day Break, . i ■, . 322 In the Fall, 327 Mother Earth, . 373 The Husbandman, 380 Weather Signs, 389 DEVOTED TO AGRICULTUKE AND ITS KIHDBED AKTS AND SClEA'UJiJS. VOL. XV. BOSTON, JANUARY, 1863. NO. 1. NOURSE, EATON & TOLMAN, Proprietors. Office... .100 Washington Street. SIMON BROWN, Editor. HENRY F. FRENCH, Associate Editor. JANTJAKY. "The wintry West extends his blast, And hail and rain do blow ; Or the stormy North sends driving forth The blinding sleet and snow. While tumbling brown, the burn comes down, And roars from bank to brae ; And bird and beast in covert rest And pass the heartless day," Burns. HE New Year comes again to us laden with blessings and duties. We have passed once more the annual cycle, and another chapter of life is written and stamped with its final seal. How important it is, at this time, that we pause and review the past. It speaks to us from its tomb with a voice both of warn- ing and encouragement, and points, with its dead finger, the pathway through the fields of the fu- ture which we, as rational beings, should pursue. What lessons can be more important or impres- sive than those of "dead Time ?" More eloquent than the preachings of Melancthon or a Luther, are the prelections and sermons of the vanished months which died like saintly (but mistaken) nuns, breathing out their balmy life in the still- ness and quiet of cloistral solitude, with the rosa- ry, and badge of salvation upon their breasts. Although we cannot now, as in the bloom and flushing spring and summer, or amid the purple and golden glories of autumn, wander "o'er bank and brae," or on the "sloping hillsides," drinking in the inspiration of the poet, and dreaming dreams of rare enchantment and beauty, yet we are not destitute of ample means of enjoyment within the circle of home engrossments ; and while the skies are veiled in "thick clouds," and the loud winds howling their paeans through the dismantled trees, we can draw around us the great and good of every clime, and hold familiar intercourse with su- perior minds upon the various topics which con- cern us, and the interests of the little world of so- cial life by which we are surrounded, and of which we are the protectors and the heads. It is one of the rarest immunities of our social system, that, amid the desolation of this season of the common year, Ave are at liberty to enjoy the fruits of our labors unannoyed by the cares and perplexities which abate the happiness of the mart of more worldly and sordid aims. Peace reigns within the farmer's domicil, and contentment — the greatest blessing that the human mind can en- joy— crowns him with perennial delight, while the merchant, whose canvas whitens every sea, is plunged into distress by perils of war and the waters, or by every change in the markets not favorable to his wishes, and made miserable by every mutation in business and the price of stocks. With the close of the vegetative year, he can close his doors upon care, and isolate himself effpctually i from its annoyances. Surrounded by his family and a few select fi-iends, he can devote his mind to study or mental recreation, with the assurance that in the acquisition of useful knowledge^ he is not only gratifying an imperative and heaven-in- stituted want of his nature, but actually contribut- ing to the happiness and well-being of the world around him, as contemplated in the results which his acquisitions are calculated to promote. . Wisely has the poet counselled : "Sow, though in days of gloom, the seeds Of manful toil and generous deeds. Of stern self-sacrifice, that heeds Little the world's behest ; Cast out the lying thought that pleads 'Enough, now take thy rest.' "That which was sown in the wintry air Shall blossom and ripen when skies are fair, Though thine should be many an anxious care 10 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. Ere the harvest is pathered in— Be stout to toil, and steady to bear — The heart that i3 true shall win,'' It is by the hearthstone of the farmer's home that the education of the young mind that is to be trained to the pursuit of agriculture, and its kin- dred branches, should be commenced. Better there than elsewhere can be laid the foundation of future usefulness and success in ife; for there the youthful student will be surrounded by the influences which serve to attach his personal in- terests and sympathies to the pursuit, and secure, from surrounding objects, that healthy stimulus to exertion which is always so essential to success. Here he sliould read the writings of those who have labored long, and, in too many cases, thank- lessly, for the benefit of the husbandman, and whose works are the richest legacy, if properly ap- preciated, that they could have bequeathed to man. AVhat would now be regarded as a fair equivalent for the volumes of Von Thaer, or, in our own country, of Prof. Johnston, or the eminently practical volume of Judge BuEL, on common hus- bandry, or of Judge French, on drainage, by those who properly estimate the value of such works in assisting the development of mind? And Jtjstus Liebig has given to us, in his pub- lished works, a legacy of wisdom for which em- pires were, in truth, but a poor exchange ! Whoever can teach us the art of causing two blades of grass to grow, profitably, where but one grew before — who can instruct us in what way we can most easily and economically redeem the pu- trid swamp, tenanted by loathsome reptiles, and noxious plants, and cause it to teem with nutri- tious herbage, is a benefactor, whose achievements entitle him to the highest praise, and whose name deserves to be kept in remembrance by those for whom he has "plied the task," and reaped the sheaves whose golden glories gladden the earth and strengthen the spirits of theu' fellow-men on the battle-field of life. The good seed they scatter will spring up "in spite of cloud and blast, And sullen rain descending fast, And pnow-wreaths thickly o'er it cast, And thunderous, darkening skies j The very tempest roaring past, Strengthens it as it lies." So, let us begin this Nev^t Year with honest intentions, with cheerful hopes, and with deter- mined energy, notwithstanding that wicked men ai* spreading death and ruin over the land, and ever remember that if we "Be stout (o toil, and steady to bear. The heart that is true shall win." FOKCE— MEN AND HORSES COMPARED. Uesagulier's Experimental Philosophy gives much information on the subject. The horse draws Avith the greatest advantage, when the line of direction is level with his breast ; in such a sit- uation he is able to draw 200 lbs. eight hours a day, walking about two miles and a half an hour. This, of course, does not relate to the weight of the wagon, or load, but to the amount of force he exerts upon the shafts. If the same horse be made to draw 240 lbs., he can work but six hours, and cannot go so fast. On a carriage, where fric- tion alone is to be overcome, a middling horse will draw 1000 lbs. If a weight be suspended in a well by a rope, passing over a pulley, a horse will lift, when attached to this rope, but about 200 lbs. His feet cannot hold on to the ground with a force any thing equal to his own weight operat- ing against his line of travel. Five men are equal in strength to one horse, and can with as much ease pull the horizontal beam of a mill occupying a circle of nineteen feet, while three men will do it in a walk forty feet wide. A horse employs much less force when required to draw up hill ; if the hill be steep, three men will do more than the horse, each man climbing up faster with a burden of 100 lbs. weight, than a horse that is loaded with 300 lbs. This is due, of course, to the position of the parts of the body being better adapted to climbing than those of the horse. In a horizontal direction the quadruped has the advantage over the biped. Thus a man v/eighing 140 lbs., and drawing a body along by means of a rope coming over his shoulders, can- not draw above 27 lbs., or exert above one-seventh part of the force of a horse employed for the same purpose. The very best and most effectual force in a man, is that of rowing, wherein he not only acts with more muscles at once for overcoming the resist- ance, than in any other position ; but as he pulls backward, the weight of his body assists as a lev- er for continuous labor. The horse is enabled to do more work on a sur- face of variable figure, than in a very level coun- try. Horses do not wear well if all the roads they draw upon be on an inclined plane or a fixed gradation. Every change of figure in the sur- face, brings into action another set of muscles, so that all the muscles of the horse are in turn called upon to act on the varied surfaces, whereas those of a continued figure appeal to one set of muscles alone. — Working Farmer. It costs a great deal more to be miserable than to be happy. Dry Food for Hogs. — A correspondent of the Country Gentleman says : Many hogs are kept comparatively poor by the high dilution of their food. They take in so much water that there is not room for a good su])ply of nutriment. Hence the reason that those farmers who careful- ly feed undiluted sour milk to their hogs, have so much finer animals than those who give them slops. The hog has not room for much water ; and if food which contains much is fed to him, it makes him big-bellied, but poor." Hogs, as well as all other animals, should be allowed all the water they will drink, but it should not be mixed with their food in excessive quantity. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 11 For the Necc Ensland Farmer. HONG KONG, CHINA. My last letter I was obliged to bring to an a1)- rupt close in oi-der to complete arrangements for leaving the next day for Canton. On the morning of Saturday last, accompanied by several friends, I embarked on the steamer "White Cloud," then ready to start for Canton river. The morning was delightful, and the pure sea air proved wonderfully invigorating after the exhausting process of a week's residence in Hong Kong. I went early on deck to take a look at the scenery on shore, but it was quite two hours be- fore we had fairly entered the river, and until then I saw very little to interest me. High, barren hills obscured all inland objects, and M'ith the ex- ception of here and there a fisherman's hut on the narrow beach and an occasional junk sailing by, with its huge fanlike sails extended to the light breeze, few signs of life were visible. I own I was disappointed ; the tropical vegetation which 1 had led my invagination to expect did not seem to be here ; neither were there many evidences of that industrious agricultural skill, which I had supposed peculiar to the Chinese, to be seen ; but the rapid progress made by our fast boat soon opened to our view a region of country high- ly cultivated, and tropical in its luxuriance. As we glided along, the captain pointed out the famous Bogue Forts, but only enough remained of them to exhibit the unskilfulness of the Chinese. The position for defence was remarkably well chosen, and needed but the aid of good engineer- ing to make it impregnable. Large paddy (or rice) fields stretched away from the water, and along the dikes built to pre- A'ent an overflow of the laud, were planted rows of the Lychee tree, whose leaves of greenish hue in contrast with the lighter shades of the blossoms, were objects of much beauty. From this point to Whanipoa, the country presented a panoramic %"iew of surpassing novelty. There our stay was short. Small boats, or sampans, flocked around the steamer, and literally covered the river sur- face. Girls managed them, with consummate skill, and seemed to enjoy the rocking motion of their diminutive craft as our steamer glided by. The hills back of the town were terraced to their summits, and had the appearance of grave-yards. A pagoda of some seven or eight stories was here a conspicuous object. Beyond Whampoa, further up, the river was swarming with boats, seemingly countless in number, and of every size and shape. A number of government junks, with immense goggle-like eyes staring from their bows, were mooi-ed in the stream. Canton was reached early in the afternoon, and while waiting an opportunity to go on shore, we had ample time to view the city as it appears from the river. Scarcely a trace is now to be seen of the splendid hongs, or mercantile houses, which formerly stood outside of the walls and were occupied as residences and places of business by foreign merchants. The hong boat, as it is called, now came along side, and the passengers from the "White Cloud" were quickly landed. I was hos]ntahly received at the great commercial establishment of Messrs. . A spacious room was kindly placed at my disposal, and having brought along with me the necessary appendage of a China boy, I found no difficulty in making myself comfortable. The sky was still overcast. It had rained since noon and I made up my mind to remain within doors, especially as the view from the verandah gave me an excellent opportunity to watcli the movements of the innumerable sampans, flower- boats and various other craft, which stretched away as far as the eye could reach. At the stern of most of these was a huge scull or sweep, inva- riably managed by females, while the less indus- trious males worked a light stroke oar at the side or stem. Little children toddled about on the decks, with gourds strapped to their backs, — some were tied with strings — to protect them from harm in case of being lost overboard. What with the hoarse, guttural cries of ])eddlers, floating lei- surely by, and the noise and din on shore from beatings of gongs, chin-chinning, joss, and the explosions of fire crackers, confusion seemed to reign with undisputed sway. The next day, Sunday, we did not attend church for the very good reason that there was none to attend. It was apparent that the blessings of a Christian Sabbath M'ere unknown here, and that the native population still r'unain immersed in the darkness of idolatry. In the afternoon, accompa- nied by a friend and resident of Canton, I crossed the river to visit the Shahmeen site, a large piece of land ceded, at the termination of the late war, to the English and French. It is separated from the adjoining shore by a wide canal, extend- ing around to the rear, the front facing the river. A substantial granite wall, reaching from the wa- ter by numerous flights of steps, is built around the whole. But few buildings as yet have been erected. This spot is more favorably situated than the old site ; it is a delta in the river, nearly opposite the Macao passage, and is regarded as quite healthy. On our return, we wandered out among the shops, making, however, no purchases. The shop- men were very civil, invariably saluting us with "chin chin," and on our announcement that we were merely "makee look see," replied, "can do," and politely displayed their wares. Monday morning, taking open chaii's with us, we crossed the river in the hong boat to visit the city. Procuring four coolies to each of our chairs, we set out, immediately after lauding, under the guidance of a boy, to make our way through the narrow and crowded streets. Our sedan beai-ers kept up a sharp, incessant cry to warn foot pas- sengers to make way. Above our heads, depend- ing from every shop, were numerous long signs inscribed in Chinese characters. The shops were so small and our coolies walked so rapidly, that we could catch but a slight glimpse of their con- tents. Some shoe stores that we passed had their goods displayed and arranged precisely as at home. As we were being whirled along we met a mandarin in a chair, and the street being tor) narrow to allow us to pass him, our coolies backed us into an opposite building, thus affording the dignitary an o|)portunity to proceed. We had started with the intention of visiting the temples or joss houses. We were first con- ducted to the "Temple of Five Hundi-ed Joss." This temple was entered through an outer build- ing or lodge, in which were two colossal images, one representing Peace and the other War, both 12 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan, painted in grotesque and fantastic hues. Thence, passing through a yard, we were admitted to the main edifice. A priest, with shaven head, under- took our guidance through the intricate passages, and soon we were in the presence of five hundred idols. Throughout the room, these idols were ar- ranged upon long platforms, in sitting pos- tures. They were all gilded, and although exces- sively Chinese in a])pearance, were not expres- .sionless. In front of each idol was a vase of arti- ficial flowers and a leaden vessel of peculiar shape, to receive the ashes of the joss stick offered as a sacrifice. The building containing the idols was exceedingly plain both in its interior and exterior. Giving our attendant a cumshaw, we proceeded on our way, visiting several buildings similar in character to the one we had just left. In one of them we were shown a fine model of a pagoda, constructed of porcelain, and, at least, thirty feet in height. Still following our guide, and having mounted a great number of steps, we found ourselves at the summit of a high hill, from which we obtained, for the first time, an excellent view of the city and the White Cloud mountains in the distance. The buildings in the city were nearly equal in height, and, with the exception of several pagodas tower- ing above the common level, few objects met our gaze, and we saw little else save a vast plain of roofs extending on either side to an immense dis- tance. A small temple, containing several gilded images, was the only structure on the hill. On ray way down, I had the curiosity to count the steps that we had passed over, and found the number to be three hundred and seventy-five. Desirous to be in time for tiffin, we commenced our return, the coolies walking at a rapid pace. On passing through the gates of the city to the suburbs, I had an opportunity to examine the walls. They seemed to be made of bricks nearly thirty feet in height, and half as thick at the base. It was here that I was repeatedly reminded of the fierce contests between the Cantonese and the English a few years since. Traces of fire — dilap- idated and ruined houses lining whole streets — vacant spots in the midst of once thickly-populated districts — gave unmistakable evidences of the ter- rible bombardment to which the city was subjected. Having returned to our quarters, we discharged our coolies, paying them for a four hours' tramp a quarter each, with which they were entirely satis- fied. The next day I was shown the establishment of Hipqua, the most famous manufactory of lac- quered ware in Canton. The buildings in which this beautiful work is done Avere in a very filthy condition; the rooms all small, and crowded with workmen to such an extent as scarcely to admit of easy elbow-room. The first process I was allowed to witness consisted of the coating of the numer- ous articles with a material resembling flax, de- signed, as I was informed, to give elasticity to the .sul)sequent coatings of lacquer, the number of which being less or more accoi-ding to the intend- ed quality of the work. After passing through a drj-ing process, the work is first varnished, then polished, and after- wards submitted to artists for embellishment This process is the most curious of all, and not- .-.•.v.»^„,i;r,r, mnnv of the designs are grotesque, such is the skill with which they are executed that many of them are really beautiful. The patterns are first traced with a pencil of chalk or marked out by rubbing a white powder over a paper sten- cil. They ai'e then painted in Vermillion, and gold dust is thrown over to bring out the design. In the afternoon I visited the Honam Temple. This I found to be more extensive than any simi- lar temple I had seen. Before the hideous idols, women were worshipping, bowing and kissing the ground, rising frequently to light fresh joss sticks which they kept burning in a leaden vase before their god. Great numbers of priests were domiciled here, one of whom conducted me into the kitchen and dining hall. It beingdinner hour, they were seated at long benches, devouring their "chow chow," placed before them in small laowls. The cooking was done in large iron boilers. Here too I saw the famous sacred hogs. They were confined in a stone pen, kept quite cleanly, and had the appearance of great age. Some of them were very large, their bellies actually drag- ging upon the ground. They are never slaugh- tered, and of course, die natural deaths. As por- cine specimens, they come far short of what I had been taught to regax^d as at all desirable ; having large, bony heads, coarse frames and skins thick- ly coated with long bristles. Extensive gardens were connected with this in- stitution laid out and cultivated in beautiful taste and order. Dwarf pear and other fruit trees sim- ilar to those found at home, were to be seen here, and it was astonishing with what skill and inge- nuity they trimmed and trained trees and plants into imitations of pagodas, boats and even ani- mals. Flowers were interspersed throughout the grounds, and the whole had a most pleasing effect. In the afternoon I accompanied a party of gen- tlemen to the celebrated porcelain manufactory of Ushing. On our passage through the streets the inhabitants flocked to the doors to see us. Many of the younger married women had their cheeks and lips painted a violent carmine, giving them the appearance of wax dolls. We found the factory divided into small com- partments similar to those seen at Hipqua the day previous. The ware of the establishment is made and baked in the country, and brought here to be painted and otherwise decorated. Tiie col- ors when first put on are destitute of brilliancy, but after having undergone the process of another baking, are very beautiful. In the evening we made a tour among the flow- er boats. As these are institutions ])eculiar to China and the Chinese, it may be well to state that when a rich man or successful merchant de- sires to give an entertainment to his friends, he hires one of these boats for an evening. Here, conveniences for smoking opium are furnished. Young girls are in attendance, and music and mirth resound. The boats are highly ornamented, and lighted by numerous glass chandeliers, chiefly of European manufacture. An entertainment was going on in one of the boats we visited. Around a small table, on which was spread a variety of preserved fruits, were seated a number of beautiful gii'ls, their heads and hair bedecked with fragrant flowers. Their cheeks and lips were painted, and they seemed to be oc- cupied, some in eating melon seeds, others in self-admiration before small min-ors. Several 1863, NEW ENGLAND FARMEIL 13 musicians strummed on instruments resembling banjoes, and a "sing song girl" screeched in loud falsettoes, making together tlie most diabolical noises I ever heard. It is hardly necessary to add that these boats or places of amusement ibrm the demi-monde of Cliina. Any ordinary description of a Chinese city or of Chinese life will convey to the reader but an im])erfect idea of either ; but I am told that by seeing one city, a very accurate impression may be formed of every other. F. E. V. Fur the New England Farmer. AGRICULTURE IN COMMON SCHOOLS. Mu. Brown : — For more than twenty years we have been the advocate of introducing agriculture as one of the branches to be tauglit in common schools. Our reasons for assuming this position are, that all agricultural operations are performed on principles of science, whether farmers will ad- mit the fact or not, and are successful just in pro- portion as these principles are carried out. Sci- ence is truth, nothing more or less, and the better truth is understood, the more easily we can follow out its dictates. It has been a pleasure to us, to read the discus- sions that have been going on in your iKi])er for a few months past, on this subject. They have shown that the minds of individuals, at least, are waking up on this subject, and this waking up we consider a bright herald of a noble future action. AVe are glad that those who see lif)ns in the way, whether those lions are real or imaginary, have the generosity to show the danger. It was said, by one of the ancients, when asked what were the most proper things for boys to learn, * Those things they are to practice when they become men," and this saying has been held in so high estimation, that it has been regarded as a proverb ever since. Admitting it to be true, ag- riculture and its kindred sciences are among the studies which have a demand on the attention of young farmers. How are a majority of them to obtain this knowledge, if they do not acquire its rudiments in common schools ? In the discussions alluded to, in the commence- ment of this article, Mr. Goldsbury very honestly, we have no doubt, brings three reasons, which to his mind are conclusive, to show that it cannot be introduced without doing more harm than good ; we differ from him in opinion, and give our rea- sons for doing so. His objections are : "First, It would injure the schools by diverting the attention of the scholars from their other ne- cessary studies." Here we should have been obliged to Mr. G. if he had defined what those other studies are, for, as the case now stands, he has ta'»^n a wide field, bearing a variety of crops. Some hold one study important to education, while others differ in opinions, and give preference each to his favorite. We once knew a teacher who con- sidered Latin and Greek the two essential studies to be pursued to secure all needful knowledge. And we have heard a learned professor of geology remark, that if he were to commence his education- al course again, he would pass over those very studies ; that he could acquire enough knowledge of them for his purpose, without spending months of toil to obtain it. Which was ritrht, or whether either, we don't decide, nor do we know what Mr. Goldsbury's "necessary studies" may turn out to be. He has left the game in the dark, and invites "More Anon" to shoot at it. Indeed, he seems to claim victory until "More Anon" does so. We don't know as we blame "More Anon," if he does not waste his ammunition until he sees something to shoot at. For ourselves, we are not in search of game ; Mr. Goldsbury has set forth his opinion, in his own way. We differ from him, and will give our reasons, which if we are wrong, it will be our pleasure to have Mr. G. correct. U'hat are the necessary studies of the common school ? Those of first and greatest importance, (as we view the subject,) are reading, siielling, M-riting, arithmetic, and a knowledge of our lan- guage. Tliese, the fathers of New England held to be important, and each successive generation of their sons has added new seals to their testimo- ny, and it is with regret, that in our day we have seen them gradually growing out of the" repute in which they once were held. Our oljservation is limited, we admit, but we question whether New England can furnish a larger number of good read- ers, correct spellers and finished penmen now, than it did twenty-five, or even fifty years ago ! But we hold these to be the necessary studies, the corner-stones on which the progress of the scholar in all other studies rests. What next ? Geogra- phy. An excellent study, and one that can be made very useful, even in agriculture, but not as necessary as many topics that come directly in the sphere of the practical operations of the farm. It is of small consequence when the rivers of Siberia freeze, compared with the adaptation of crops to our soil and climate. Algebra has become so pop- ular a study in schools, that scholars almost leave their abs to go into it. Yet of what use is it in practical life ? Where is the iiulividual who adopts it in preference to common arithmetic in business operations ? How many leave it in the school-room where they found it, or take it away only to forget it. Some of our common schools glory in their Latin classes ; we have heard chil- dren going over with their hie, hoc, dec, who did not read plain English so as to make it intelligi- ble, much less effective, across the school- room. Of what possible use can the smattering of Latin, so acquired, be? But, for argument's sake, we will give these studies, and any others Mr. Golds- bury may claim as necessary, a place in the school- room, and we have one nook left which agricul- ture may occu]n' as a study in the school, without interfering with these necessary studies, (if he holds them as such,) to wit, wliat better or more interesting reading books can be found than the "Manual of Agriculture" l)y .Mr. Flint, or the series of "Family Readers" by Marcius Willson ? If he can give us no wider berth, we hope he will allow us to introduce them as read- ing books, and our scholars will, without interfer- ing with other studies, be on the high road to ag- ricultural knowledge, and before he is aware of it, there will be an elbowing for room to introduce something more of the same sort of knowledge. '^Second, Our teachers are not qualified to teach it, and have no means of exjjlaining it." Within our remembrance it has been said a railroad could not be built to connect the harbor at Boston with the Hudson. There were no men qualified to car- 14 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jaw, ry on the work, and no means to do it. But the thing lias been done for a score of years, and in a feu- more years, this same road will be one short link in a chain of roads connectins? the Atlantic vith the Pacific. Agricidture will be taught in o.ir common schools. If we have not teachers, it IN no fault of the cause. Let them be called for, a-id they will come up, a host innumeralile. The people are beginning to demand such teachers. Let I'Ur Board of Iviucation and Normal Schools so far yield to the call of the people as to see that a f dl supply is provided. '•And, tliirdhj, are not old enough to understand it, and have no time to devote to it, without neg- lecting their other studies." Here Mr. Goldsbury assumes another undefined position, to wit, "our scholars generally are not old enough to under- stand it." At what particular age this power of U'lderstanding comes, he does not enlighten us by saying. The love of natural objects is inherent in children. Flowers and fruits are early subjects of their admiration. Animals are also petted in early life. 'J'hey begin their little farming operations as an amusement very young. We have seen chil- dren four and five years old, planting their little patches in out of the way places, and imitating their fathers in their little hay and harvest fields. Are they old enough to understand the principle when they do the thing ? They are not "old enough to understand it," and yet we have shown in many of our schools, schol- ars were led forward in other studies quite as in- tricate and much less useful. Again, many of {he winter scholars in our country schools spend their summers in practical farming, and are good help to their parents. It is a gross libel upon tliese boys to say they are not old enough to understand the science of firming. Last summer we noticed several well arranged gardens on the grounds of scliool-houses, worked by the scholars, male and female. They dug the ground, did the setting out, sowed the seeds and kept the i)lants clear of weeds. Were these schol- ars incapable of understiinding all about the sci- ence of these things ? "They have no time to de- vote to it without neglecting other studies." We consider this objection fully answered by showing that we have several studies in our common schools of far less practical utility than that of ag- riculture, and these ought to give way to it, in so much as the less important should yield to the more important. That if it cannot he tolerated furtlier tl".v;n that, books like those we have named should be introduced as reading books, through which much practical knowledge would be gained, without interference with other studies, and a vast amount of knowledge would thus be acquired. Here we leave the subject for the present, hoping Mr. Goldsbury and others will pursue it with their pros and cons until public opinion shall be reached, and public action follow as the result. William Bacon. Eichmond, Nov. 10, 1862. Grape Cultuke. — Marks & Miller, lessees of Fowler's High Gap Farm, in this county, have developed a new feature in the rich resources of our climate and soil. We refer to the culture of the grape. From less than four acres they have this season sent to market no less than seventeen tlwiiftand pounds of luscious Catawbas. They sold the entire crop to an enterprising fruit dealer at Chicago for T-i cents a pound. Mr. Marks, who has a life-long experience in the business in one of the largest vineyards of Cin- cinnati, has purchased a small ftirm a few miles below the city, and will enter largely in the culture of the grape. — LafaijeUe Courier, Iowa. Fur itie ]Sew England Fanner. VEGETABLE GROWTH. Mu. Editor : — I sometimes wonder that the science of botany, teaching as it does so- many cu- rious and interesting matters concerning the structure and growth of plants, is not more stud- ied by farmers and their families. There is no branch of knowledge that gives us higher ideas of the wisdom and goodness of the Infinite Architect. Such varieties of structure, such changing forms of beauty, such wonderful adaptation of means to ends, such bountiful provisions for the supply of animal food, are shown in the vegetable kingdom, tJiat we cannot but be filled with reverence when we think of Him whose wisdom has devised and whose hand has wrought all this beauty and use. If we attempt to read from the book of Nature the history of a single plant of our common Indi- an corn, we shall soon find how little we know, and shall wish to know more even of that plain, every-day thing. We cultivate it year after year, we have studied how to make it grow, we know what kind of soil it likes, what manure is best adapted to increase the stem and leaf, and Avhat will give us larger returns of grain. But there is much beside this in the history of the plant that should interest us. Let us take a grain of coiti and plant it. We know that when it is deposited in the moist earth it soon begins to swell, and ihen pushes out a lit- tle white root, which runs down into the ground ; next a small Avhite shoot starts up towards the surface, becoming green as soon as it gets above ground. Now how is this done ? Who can tell why the rootlet always takes a downward course and the plumule reaches upward ? What subtle influence of the air or light changes the plumule from white to a rich green ? How does it gi"ow at all ? We see that the plant daily becomes taller, daily increases in thickness, soon shows other leaves pushing out, then a stout stem is built up, on the top of which what we call the spindle pres- ently shows iteelf, soon to hang out its pollen- bearing stamens ; side bi'anches strike out at the axils of the leaves, and a soft thread-like cluster of long pistils apjjears at the tips of the branches to receive the pollen from the staminate flowers above and convey its magic influences to the germs on the young ear, causing them to enlarge and in time to harden into the ripe seed. These are some of the more appai-ent ojierations of na- ture while producing this invahiable grain. Now would it not be interesting to all who labor to assist the corn to grow, to study the mysteries of vegetable growth ? Would we not like to know the elements of which the seed is composed, what chemical changes take place in it during germination, how the plant draws nourish- ment from the earth seemingly in the form of mere water, but that water containing in solution 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 15 the elements of nutrition ; how the vital chemis- try of the plant changes the liquid and gaseous material to solid sujistances ; how the various organs select and distribute the suitable material for the different parts ; how the selected atoms are arranged one by one to enlarge the stem, the leaf, the staminate and pistilate flowers, and the seed ? The study of these wonders of nature seems to me to be peculiarly ap]iropriate to the farmer. He has the most favorable opportunities to investigate them ; he is constantly in the great school-room, and his books are ever open b;fore him. He needs but to use his faculties of obser- vation, with such aids as are easily accessible. His thoughts can be active while at his labor, and the contemplation of the various wonders l:)efore him will assist him to forget the back-ache and general fatigue that often trouble him. He will find objects of interest in the very weeds that ho is hoeing up, and sometimes be strongly tempted to preserve some rare weed, that he mav study its history and character. He will thus find jjlea- sures mingling more and more with his fatigues, and may in this manner receive compensation for many of his discomforts. M. p. Concord, Nov., 1862. For the New Ensland Farmer. AGRICULTUHE IN COMMON SCHOOLS. Mr. P^DITOR : — It is generally admitted that brevit\ and perspicuity are prime qualities in Eng- lish composition. I intended to convey this idea in my last communication, but unfortunately I made use of so bold, so startling and so unusual a figure of speech, that you did not see fit to print it. "More Anon" appears to be earnestly engaged in reviewing and correcting the opinions of others, while, at the same time, he has no clear and defi- nite ideas of his own. But to the question at issue : It is a sufficient answer to all that has been said, and to all that can be said, in favor of introducing the study of agriculture into our common schools, to say that the thing is simply im]n-acticable. It cannot be done. As our schools are at present constituted, agriculture cannot be taught or learned in them ; and for this ])lain reason, because they are desti- tute of all the necessary means of teaching it. They have not the tools, the implements, or the materials to work with. They cannot teach by example all the different kinds of farm work, and the correct use of every kind of form tool or im- plement. They can teach none of these things, simply because they have not the means. This would be especially the case in the winter, when the frozen ground, the bleak winds, and the drift- ing snows, put a full stop to out-door farm opera- tions, and render all practical instruction in agri- culture vain and useless. And the attempt would not be much better in the summer, as the instruc- tion would have to be given almost exclusively by young female teachers in the open field to children between the ages of three and fifteen years, a large proportion of whom are females. Again, it is a sufficient answer to all that has been said, and to all that can be said, in favor of introducing the study of agriculture into our com- mon schools, to say that it would be the means of diverting the attention of the scholars from all their appropriate and necessary studies, to the great injury of the schools ! For instance, while the teachers were giving instruction in "whoa, haw, gee buck," that is, teaching how to drive and manage a team; or on the composition of ma- nures; or on plowing, planting and hoeing; or on the sowing of the didferent kinds of grain' ; or on the curing of hay and grain ; or on the making of butter and cheese ; or on the rearing, feeding and fiittening of animals ; or on any other to])ic con- nected with good farming, all the otlier important appropriate studies of the schouls would be en- tirely neglected. There would be no progress made in spelling, reading, writiti.s,, grammar, geog- raphy and arithmetic, while the teachers were vainly attempting to give practical instruction in farming without the means of doing it. Again, it is a sufficient answer to all that has been said, and to all that can be said, in favor of this question, to say that there is no more reaso.n why agriculture should be taught in our common schools, than there is; that all the various mechanic arts should be taught there ; or that military tac- tics, or law, or divinity, or medicine, should be taught there. These are all useful branches of knowledge, and ought to be thoroughly taught and well understood, in order to bo skilfully prac- ticed. But this is no reason why they should be taught in our common schools which were estab- lished for the ]mrpose of teaching other branches of a more general and rudimental character, and of universal application and necessity — of leaching the young of both sexes the common branches of a common school education, so as to prepare them for other studies and qualify them for any business or pursuit. JouN Golusbury. Warivick, Mass., 1SG2. Remarks. — Our correspondent will observe that we have omitted a few expressions M'hich had no bearing upon the points in issue, and which, it seems to us, would tend to irritate and confuse. Far the Netc Enqlaud Farmer. EXHIBITING HERDS OP CATTLE. I hope the suggestion of "Mass.," in your pa- per of the 25th of October, will be fully elaborat- ed, by some one ex])erienced in keeping and rear- ing of cattle. I know it is easy to tlicori/^e on such topics, but a few facts, well attested, are worth all the speculations imaginable. The best cattle show I ever attended, occurred a few years since, at Hanvers Plains, E^scx county, when a herd of twenty milch cows, selected from (ii'ty kept on the Burley farm, in Beverly, then owi-.ed by the heirs of William Burley, Esq., were exhib- ited. These were a fine s])ecimen of what is con- sidered the New England breed of cUtle. Tiiey were all of a deep red color, of medium si^ A BEAU'i'iiTUIi COTSWOIiD BUCK. The accompanying illustration is a portrait of a Cotswold Buck, owned by Mr. P. W. Jones, of Amherst, N. H., from the imported stock of Geo. C. Hitchcock, Esq. The culture of sheep has been greatly neglected in New England for many years. During the same period, the demand for wool has largely in- creased, and so has the taste for good mutton. Why, then, has wool and mutton growing been constantly on the decrease ? Many a New Eng- land farmer could answer this question in sorrow- ful replies, who has found his pet flock dwindle away night after night, by the act of some fell de- stroyer that no power of his own and no arm of the law could then reach. This has been, in our opinion, the principal cause of reducing the num- ber of sheep in the New England States to about one-fifth of what it was at its highest point. Some other causes undoubtedly existed, — but their destruction by dogs was the principal one. Now there is a better state of things, the strong arm of the law, and a better sense of justice, have come to the aid of the farmer, and he is encour- aged once more to see if he cannot meet some- thing of the demand made for wool, and thus keep at home the piles of gold that are sent abroad for it, and gratify the taste that has grown up for good mutton, rather than for so much beef and pork. These things are constantly awakening attention to sheep husbandry, so that numerous inquiries are made as to the best breeds for wool and for mutton, for rapid growth, docility, hardiness, and every thing that affects them as profitable ani- mals. But opinions are divided, and we believe with entire sincerity ; as locality, and the manner of feeding and tending a flock, would have a decided tendency for or against the profits. Some persons of large experience declare for the Spanish merino, while others greatly prefer the Cotswold or South- down, and perhaps even a few for the Saxony. Then, there are grades of these that are esteemed by some as even preferable to the pure bloods of either class. It is proper for him who has a de- cided preference for any one variety, to hold it in high estimation, and to speak earnestly in its praise, — but it would be folly to denounce other breeds as worthless that may have failed with him, but which have often succeeded well with others. Location and management seem to have a more direct and visible influence upon sheep, than upon any other of our domestic animals. We are glad to find our farmers giving more at- tention to sheep husbandry, and believe that in proper localities they will find it more profitable than the raising of milk now is. If the culture of 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 17 sheep were more general, a less number of persons might be engaged in producing milk, and conse- quently, the price of that article become fairly re- munerative. In his late address before the Wool Growers' Convention in Vermont, Col. Needham says the estimated cost of keeping sheep in different sec- tions per year, is, — in Illinois, 60 cents ; Iowa, 75 cents ; Michigan, 83 cents ; Virginia, 60 cents ; New Jersey, 60 cents ; Pennsylvania, 50 cents ; Maine, $1 ; California, 65 cents, and Vermont, $1,30. We hope our experienced correspondents will furnish some practical articles for the Farmer on Sheep Husbandry. The Cotswold is the subject before us now, — and many, in these days of inquiry, will ask, " What is a Cotswold sheep ?" Mr. Robert Smith's report on the stock exhibited at the late show of the Royal Agricultural Society, says : "It is a bold and commanding animal, with finely arched neck, broad, straight back, arched ribs, and length of quarter, carrying an enormous weight of carcass upon clean legs. The fore-top on the fore- head of no small dimensions is a strong character- istic of the Cotswold breed. These animals have always had strong enemies to contend with — wind and weather. They seem to have trampled over every obstacle, and bid defiance to the other breeds for weight of carcase, wool and quality combined. We will not venture to inquire how these are produced at so early an age, but content ourselves with the oft-told stories of 50, 60 and 80 pounds per quarter, and from 10 to 18 pounds of wool." THE AMERICAN SOLDIER. The Paris Pays publishes an extract of a letter ■written by Gen. Cluseret, a French officer now in the service of the United States, in which he says of the soldiers under his command : — "After two months of campaign and sufferings such as I never endured, even in the Crimean war, where we never were in want of food, nor exhaust- ed by long marches, I can speak to you knowing- ly of the American soldier. During all that time we have been marching night and day, oftentimes without bread, with half of our men shoeless, ex- posed to a chilly rain, without shelter, tent or vil- lage. We have thus walked between 150 and 200 miles. But that which, in my estimation, makes the American soldier the first in the world — the equal of the French soldier — is. that I never heard him utter a complaint or grumble. I never was compelled to inflict a punishment upon him. When I ordered a straggler to fail in, he used to show me his naked feet and hurry on as much as he could. I have but a word to express my opin- ion of the American soldier : he is an admirable soldier. He adds to the qualities of the French a patience and resignation which I did not think it possible for a soldier to acquire." J'or the Keu> England Parmer. "HO"W IS IT, THEN, THAT FARMERS GET ALONG?" Friend Brown: — Owing to some unaccounta- ble delay in your Halifax a,!>;ent, I have not ob- tained a monthly since April. So to supply the place of new matter, I have been re-perusing the old ; especially "Pinkham and his criticisers" on farm profits. One writer, "J. A. A." although insisting on the profit, yet says he has looked in vain for an answer to the above heading. Now if the subject is not worn threadbare, you will per- mit me to try for an answer to this very important query. We all know of instances where a man has be- gun with nothing, as we say, and in a few years has paid for his farm, stock, &c., besides support- ing his family ; but we wish to know how it has been done. I have had, lately, some httle expe- rience of the income and outgoes of farming, hav- ing kept a minute farm account for several years, and I have thus far succeeded in obtaining a sur- plus, entirely within the farm, and have also im- ])roved it yearly, though I have had my share of bad luck in cro])s and herds. lie might express the term, "bad luck," more correctly, if not so concisely, in nine cases out of ten, thus : — the natural result of carelessness and ignorance. Before going further, I will mention the five es- sentials of farming, to make it profitable, wichout going to the wood-lot or selling the corner-lot, as Mr. P. urges, and he will agree that they are all important. I find the first requisite is Prudence; and I would like space to give a list of the many differ- ent themes that cluster around it. The second is Capital, even if it only lies in liealth and strength of body and mind, vrith skill and knowledge. The third, Honesty, or else thejjrofits might arise from overreaching, instead of farming. The fourth, Permanence of occupation, either by long leases or ownership, as that will enable the farmer to adopt all necessary rotations, ])lan ahead, and work out a system peculiar to his land — as there are scarcely two contiguous farms in this valley that require exactly the same system ; and lastly, over all, the Blessing of the Creator ; with these, and a market, any man can bring the balance on the right side of account. Now, as I said above, I have found farming profitable, and my general farm account ])roves it ; but when I try the figures, that cannot lie, on the cost and value of single crops, or the raising and fattening of cattle, swine, Sec, a la wnde de Pink- ham, I generally get the like result as he, and here lies the difficulty, and here also stands the solution. Mr. P.'s accounts — see Vol. XL, i)age 563, .V. E. Fanner — are not jn-operiy farmers' ac- counts: they may be a tailor's or steveiiore's mem- orandum of what it cost to obtain an acre of land and hire labor, and buy manure, &:c., for a crop of corn, or to get a calf one day old, and buy every- thing for it till it is a cow. This is not real farm- ing. It may be amat'^ur farming, and it is as in- nocent a way of money-spending, as going to the watering-places, or patronizing t!ie race-course. The prudent farmer don't l)iiy his labor and ma- nure ; he does his own work, collects and spends his manure, Avithout cash oatlay, or any outlav, but his time and stren''th ; in a word, liis time is 18 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. devoted to his land ; cutting wood and poles in winter; then fencing; then in spring, planting in hope ; cnltivating, haying, composting, &c. through the summer; reajjing the fruit of his la- bor in autumn ; while his sales all the year round bring in the dollars, and the difference between his cash outlay and his cash receipts is his profit, and yet our farmer is a stay-at-home man ; he don't hire out on the road, or go about hewing, to get money to ])ay his taxes ; for the old proverb teaches, that "The foot of the owner is the best manure." There is always enough to do on his own land, by which his future work will be easier done, with greater profit. lIo])ing to recur to this subject again, when I will enter into figures bearing upon the first and fourth requisites, as above, I remain as usual, Annapolitan. Clarence Centre, Nova Scotia, Oct. 18, 1862. PRODUCTION OF QRAIIf. We compile from WelWs Produce Reporter, published in Chicago, a few figures relating to the amount of grain received there at different periods of the year. Total receipts of wheat for the week ending" October 25, 18(52, 4:36,091 bushels, of the value of >?;}91,144 ; previously, since January 1st, 10,184,481 bushels, of the value of $8,755,385. Of corn there was received during the week end- ing October 25, 1862, 951,140 bushels, of the value of §31.'3,751 ; previously, from January 1st, the whole amount was 26,677,877 bushels, of the value, in toio, of $7,858,511. Look at the amount of grain, and then look at its value ; and these are but two staples out of four or five great ones. Rye, oats and flour we have not quoted at all. Up to October, 25, 1862, grain to the amount of 30,862,358 bushels, of an aggregate value of $16,613,896, passed through one poi-t of the great grain-growing countries of the West. In connection with these figures, examiwe the quantity produced in Iowa, as compiled from a journal published in that State. The yield of wheat is estimated at 20,000,000 bushels this year ; being 1,750,000 bushels more than the crop of 1861. There have been 1,325,000 acres of corn cultivated this year, which will yield 76,250,000 bushels, or an excess over the crop of last vear of 16,000,000 bushels. Oats will reach 10,000,000 bushels ; hay, 1,000,000 tons ; sorghum syrup, 3,000,000 gallons ; and potatoes double last year's q\]antity. What arc the fables of the valleys of diamonds and mines of rubies and gems, compared wich such solid and substantial wealth as this ? — Scientijic American. A CfUK Foil Wakt.s. — Apply nitric acid (aqua- fortis) to the centre of the wart, till it begins to become painful ; then rub it over with sweet oil or any other, and in two or three days the wart will come ofl". Another. — Dissolve as much common washing .soda in a tablespoonful of water as the water will take up ; wash the warts with this for a minute or two, and let them dry without wiping. This, repeated, is said to destroy the ugliest warts in a short time. For tfie New England Farmer. PUNCTUALITY. I noticed in the Farmer of Nov. 1 an article from "vSarah," entitled "Being in Season." The beneficial results of promptness cannot be ques- tioned. But 1 do question whether a farmer's wife can be so strictly and unwaveringly punctual as Sarah recommends. Many a wife has "tried it ;" indeed, nearly every young wife commences housekeeping very systematically, but soon finds, to her sorrow, that "rules will not work." Could she be suppfied with all the assistance which she needs, but which so few young farmers can afford, — and could she also receive the sympathy and co-operation of her husband, I have no doubt there could be perfect success. But the fact is, men, as a class, do not believe in punctuality ; at least, they do not show their faith by their works. Suppose that twelve is your appointed dinner hour. After a morning of unceasing toil, perhaps with a fretful, teething baby in your arms, the nice dinner which is to go so far toward keeping the love of your husband, is all prepared just as the bell i-ings for noon. You smooth out the wrinkles of care and weariness from your face, the "pleas- ant smile and kiss of welcome" are all ready, but the "lord" comes not. Five minutes pass, — ten, — the steam from the roast meat and potatoes grows thin and vanishing, — fifteen, and potatoes and pudding are placed in the oven "to keep warm," while you snatch a book or paper to fill up the spare moments. Half an hour passes, and the wrinkles return in spite of all your efforts to "pos- sess your soul in patience." You are glad of the time to read or tend baby, but you cannot help thinking how the washing or ironing, which was left unfinished, might have progressed in that half hour, and how the afternoon which you depended upon for sewing must be shortened and broken. No. "Better" 7iot "wait fifteen minutes yourself, than cause your husband to wait five." Why isn't a woman's time as valuable as a man's ? Why must she be the soul of punctuality, or be met by her husband "on his pinnacle of sternness," while he waits without reproof to finish just that bit of work before he leaves it, or to talk over the last war news with the neighbor who is passing? Will it do to excuse yourself to morning callers ? You have no girl, and answer the ring of the door bell yourself. You meet a friend who has few family cares herself, and does not know or realize yours. You really value her friendship, and a half hour's chat with her would do your soul good. Now, will you inform her that she interferes with your domestic arrangements, that husband expects his dinner at twelve o'clock precisely, and will take no excuse if it is delayed, and therefore she will oblige you by going her way? How many friends would you have? And how comfortable would you feel ? "Invite them into the kitchen." I, for one, do not want my visitors in the kitchen. They are in the way there. Just so surely as I continue my baking or ironing before the criticis- ing eyes of a caller, the dough adheres provokingly to the moulding board, and the iron to the shirt- bosom, until I am M'orried into a fever heat, and seek relief by inviting my visitor to her proper station, the parlor. In my humble opinion, the man who will take no excuse for an occasional late 1 meal, and who will not patiently and cheerfully 1863. XEW ENGLAND FARMER. 19 ■svait for his wife as often as he causes her to wait for him, ought to be excluded from the ranks of civilized society. He is a tyrant ! Let the gen- tlemen take a few lessons in punctuality (and also in patience) and I have not the slightest doubt that their wives will "be in season." Margie. Remarks. — Capital, sides to the question. There are evidently two AUTUMN. Autumn 1 Forth from glowing orchards stepp'd he gaily in a gown Of warm russet freaked with gold, and with a visage sunny- brown ; On his hc;id a rural chaplet, wreathed with heavily drooping stapes. And broad shiidow-casting vine leaves like the Bacchanalian shapes. Fruits and berries rolled before him from the year's exhausted horn ; Jets of wine went spinning upwards, and he held a sheaf of corn ; And he laughed for very joy, and he danced from too much pleasure. And he sang old songs of harvest, and he quaffed a mighty measure. But above this wild delight an overmasteriug gravene?3 rose. And the fields and trees seemed thoughtful in their absolute re- pose ; And I saw the woods consuming in a many-colored death — Streaks of yellow flame down-deepening through the green that lingereth. Sanguine flashes, like a sunset, and austerely shadowing brown ; And I heard, within the silence, the nuts sharply rattling down: And I saw the long dark hedges all alifiht with scarlet fire, Where the berries, pulpy-ripe, had spread their bird-feasts on the briar. I beheld the southern vineyards, and the hop grounds of our land. Sending gusts of fragrance outwards nearly to the salt sea strand ; Saw the windy moors rejoicing in their tapestry of fern. And the stately weeds and rushes that to dusty dryness turn. WINTER. In a foggy cloud obscurely, entered Winter, ashy pale. And his step was hard and heavy, and he wor« an icy mail : Blasting all the path before him, leapt a black wind from the north. And from stingmg drifts of sleet he forged the arrows of his wrath. Vet some beauty still was found, for when the fog had passed away. The wide lands came glittering forward in a fresh and strange array ; Naked trees ha4 got snow foliage, soft, and feathery, and bright. And the earth looked dress'd for heaven in Its spiritual white. Black and cold as iron armor lay the frozen lakes and streams ; Round about the fenny plashes shone the long and pointed gleams Of the tall reeds, iceincrustcd ; the old hollies jewel-spread Warmed the white marmoreal cUiUness with an ardency of red. Upon desolate morasses stow! the heron like a ghost ; Beneath the gliding shadows of the wild fowls' noisy host ; And the bittern clamo-ed harshly from his ne.«t among the sedge Where the indistinct dull moss had blurr'd the rugged water's edge. James S. Grenxell. — We learn through the newspa])ers that this gentleman has been appoint- ed by Mr. Commissioner Xewtox, to the chief clerkship in the Agricultural department at Wash- ington. We know Mr. Grenxell well — know him in the social relations of life, and as connect- ed with agriculture, theoretically and practically, having been associated with him in the Massa- chusetts State Board of Agriculture, ivhere there were excellent opportunities to learn his tastes, powers and energy in the great subject, and we do not hesitate to say that we beheve the ap- pointment a most judicious one. Mr. G. has youth, health, an ardent temperament, sound learning from books and institutions, together with untiring energy, integrity, and miic'.i i)ersonal acquaintance and experience on the farm — all of which combined give him qualifications for the position with which he has been entrusted, which few can expect to possess. We congratulate the Commissioner, in his wise selection, and have no doubt but Mr. Grennell will relieve him of a vast amount of labor which might embarrass him in the general management of the Department. For the JS'ew England Farmer. THE TEAK OF FRUITS. Probably no year in the history of this country has produced so large a supply of fruits — particu- larly apples and pears — as the current season of 1862. Unlike most other seacons, where a scarci- ty in one section has been supplied by profusion in another, the crop has been large throughout all the Northern and Middle States. Here in Mas- sachusetts, and particularly in the immediate neighborhood of this metropolis, the largely in- creased attention paid to the cultivation of fruit trees for the last ten or fifteen years, has culmi- nated in a supply of aj)ples and pears out of all proportion to former years, if not, indeed, out of all proportion to the demand. I am myself one of the victims to this abundance ; for almost every- thing I have in the shape of fruit tree has this year insisted upon bearing ; and so far from hav- ing a market for the surplus, (having natural scruples against wasting it,) I have exerted myself about as much in giving it away, as I should, un- der ordinary circumstances, in marketing double the quantity. If such is my experience, with only a garden of half an acre, what must be the fate of those who count their j)ears by hundreds, and their apples by thousands of bushels ! But let not the fruit-growers be discouraged. The causes which have led to the extraordinarily low prices of fruit this season are numerous, and will not be likely to occur conjointly again. In the first place, there is an over-production ; in the second place, a large class of consumers have gone to the war ; in the third place, the scarcity of small change has interfered greatly with the retail trade at the numerous fruit stands in ihe cities and large towns ; and in the fourth place, though the quality of fruit — pears in particular — has been unusually fair to the eye, it has greatly lacked that high and delicious flavor which has distin- guished it in less productive reasons. Tliis la.->t peculiarity has been a subject of general remark, and I attribute it not to the over-production, but to the excessive moisture of the season, which has caused the fruit to grow large and fair, but de- prived it of the better qualities of richness and fla- vor. Some few varieties indeed there arc, which seem not to have been afl'ected in this way ; but out of some fifty varieties which I have tasted this season, not more than half a dozen have come up to the usual standard of excellence. The Rostie- 20 XEW EXGLAXD FARMER. Jax. zer was the only early pear which answered to its established reputation, though I have a pear near- ly as earlv, which I purchased at some auction under the 'label of Sou\Tain d'Ete, (Sovereign of Summer.) which I have not found in any other collection, and has made with me a very high rep- utation. Then there is the Langelier. the SieuUe. the Suzette de Bevay, and another for which I have '-no name :" they are all that came up to the standard of what I consider pears ought to be. My own experience in this matter, I find, has been more or less that of other and larger fruit-growers, and I think I cannot be mistaken in attributing it to the cause before named. Fruit-growing upon cl.ivev soils has been most injuriously affected in this wav ; but even upon sandy or gravelly soils this peculiarity has been marked. Indeed, I think for the last four or five yeais, the quality of pears has been injuriously affected by the moisture of the weather before and at the time of ripening. Of course, after such a season of plentv^ in the fruit culture, we must expect the next to be one of scarcity ; and so far as my observation extends, very few fruit buds have formed for next year's development. This remark does not apply to the cherrv ; for the crop rf that fruit having been to a great extent cut off the present season by the damage to the fruit spurs, occasioned by the se- vere frosts of the spring before, they are now showing a profusion of fruit buds beyond any- thing I ever witnessed. Of grapes and quinces we cannot judge, as their fruit-buds are formed upon the new wood of the same season ; but it is reasonable to suppose that, the crop ha%-ing been large this j'ear, they have exhausted something of the fruit-bearing energy, which will tell upon the fruit crop of the next. The currant bushes also appear to have exhausted themselves somewhat by their late exuberant crop, and their promise for the next season is light. We have only to "wait and see." E. c. P. Somerville, Mass., Nov., 1862. these circumstances, apples are selling at a rate that affords the farmer a profit equal to an aver- age realized on his other crops. The present causes of low price cannot long exist. THE GKAPE CURE. Remarks. — Our correspondent has given four causes of the low price of fruit this autumn, and they are all correct. There is another cause, however, for the low price of fruit which has pre- vailed— namely, the unhappy and unnatural re- bellion of our Southern brethren. Some of the consequences of this are the derangement of trade extending through all the circles of business. In former years, when fruit has been plenty, a large amount of it has found its way to the Southern States, in exchange for oranges, sweet potatoes, and many other articles of traflic. It was not shipped in large quantities by a single vessel, but made up a portion of the freight of numerous coasters that were constantly plying between the New England ports and those of nearly all the South. Autumn pears, even, could be sent in some of the swift steamers to many of the South- em ports, all of which made a demand which has not existed this year. In consequence of the gen- eral derangement in business, we have reason to believe that the shipment of apples to Liverpool has been less than usual this year. Still, under The grape cure lasts for from three to six weeks. The regular season commences, on an average, about the middle or the first week in September, and lasts to nearly the end of October. Every- thing depends on the state of ripeness of the grapes. The amount of grapes daily taken by per- sons undergoing the cure, varies from about four and a half to seven or eight pounds : in some cases even as much as nine pounds is eaten. They are taken three times a day, at the same hours at which mineral waters are usually drank in Germa- ny— before breakfast, at eleven o'clock in the morning, or two hours before dinner, and at from five to six in the evening. Persons generally com- mence the cure with from two to three pounds a day, and advance daily in quantity till the larger limit is reached. The skins and the seeds should not be swallowed. The largest portion is usually consumed at eleven o'clock. Some doctors do not allow their patients to take any other breakfast than the grapes, accompanied by a roll of bread. The usual plan, however, is to permit them to take a breakfast of tea or coffee with bread, but no butter, after the grapes, A strict diet is universally prescribed : all fat, sour or spiced meats and pastiy are forbidden ; a small quantity of white light wines is pennitted, but red wines, beer and milk must be avoided. The eve- ning meal should be a very light one. The system , pursued at Durkheim is the same as the one fol- ■ towed at the other places where the grape cure , goes on ; and the grapes which are used in the '. cure both at Vevay and Montreux, are, as at ^ Durkheim, for the most part, the Gutedal and the Austrian varieties. The disease in which the grape cure is consid- ered by the German doctors to be the most bene- ficial is in affections of the mucous membrane of the respiratory organs. The secretive powers of this membrane are roused, and it is enabled to throw off obstructions which have assumed a chronic form. Cases of bronchitis and pneumonia are said to have been often cured, even in patients \ of a scrofulous constitution ; and much benefit is said to have been experienced by persons affected . with tubercular consumption in its earlier stages, j Where spitting of blood has set in, much caution must be used as to the amount of grapes taken. ' Persons affected with any of these complaints are in the habit of coming to Durkheim yearly from , all parts of Germany. A well-known grape-grower in New York some years ago put forth a theory of curing disease by ' the use of grapes, but he never carried his theory : into practice beyond the circle of his own family. j At Durkheim they do it on a larger scale. ! Lucky Days. — The Anglo-Saxons deemed it : highly important that a child should be bom on a lucky day, on which the whole tenor of his life was supposed to depend ; for, in their opinion^ , each day had its peculiar influence upon the des- 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 21 tiny of the newly-born. Thus, the first day of tbe moon was preferred above all others, for the arrival of the little stranger, for tbey said, "a child bom on that day is sure to live and pros- per." The second day was not so forttmate as the first, as the child bom on that day '"would grow fast but not live long." If he was bom on the fourth day of the moon he was destined to become a great }>olitician ; if on the tenth, a great travel- ler ; and if on the twenty-first, a bold marauder. But of all the days of the week on which to be b-im, Sunday was by far the most lucky, and if it fell on the new moon the child's prosperity was destined to be unbounded. Friday was an un- lucky birthday, not only because it was the cruci- fixion of our Lord the Saviour, but because, ac- cording to Anplo-Saxon calculation;, Adam ate the forbidden fruit on Friday, and was also ex- pelled from Paradise and died and descended into hell on that day. — Thrupp's Anglo-Saxon Home^ POTATO STABCH. It is not so generally known as it should be, that starch made from the common potato fur- nishes an excellent substitute for arrow-root, as a wholesome, nutritious food for infants. It also makes a good cheap pudding for the table, if cocked like sago, and as it has not the medicinal properties of arrow-root, it is much to be preferred as an article of daily food, except for children who are subject to diarrhoea or summer complaint. The process of making the starch is so simple, and the time required so short, as to put it into the power of every one having the n^ans at hand. Wash any quantity of potatoes perfectly dean, and grate them into a tub half full of dean cold water ; stir it up well ; let it settle, and then pour off the foul water : put the grated potato into a fine wire or coarse hair sieve ; plunge it into another tub full of dean cold water, and wash the starch through the meshes of the sieve and throw the residue away ; or wash it again if any starch remains in the pumice : let it settle again, and repeat this process until the water comes off dear ; scr^>e from the top any remains of the pumice ; then take the starch out and put it on dishes to dry, and it will be fit for use inune- diately. 'U'hen wanted for use, thtt as much as may be needed in cold water, and stir it into boil- ing milk, or water, if preferred, and it requires no further cooking. It also makes a stiff and beautiful starch for clearing thin muslins or laces, and is much less troublesome to manage than thit made of wheat. — American AgricuUurist, Remedies for CME-BrTrsG. — I- - --—ex m- per, there was an inquiry for the cure oi a cnb- biting horse, and I have looked for answers, and as yet have seen but one. and that was to buctie a strap around the neck. I owned a crib-biter ooce, and was told to try the strap, and the effect was to cut the mane out, but the hone would crib when the strap was off and almost as c^ten when on — keeping in a stall withoot rwdk d to the bosses in boxes at feeding time, or soaping the parts thickly with sot"\ sc»?.p on the spots he v==- ' — ^ "r' fact ail parts rea'"''"'»l ' HO'W THE TRESCH. ECONOMIZE. There are few American faaatit* who know ex- actly the eipenwa of a year ; tfaej all know, prob- ably, that it eoets abont ao manr bondred or thou- sand dcJIars oa the wholes Bat ereij Eaxopeaa I famfl J knows the expense of eretj fear, ld term, almost any heart will warm toward them. It is not one cosset calf or lamb that is to be singled out, but all come in for their share of the comforts provided. One may be scrawny, anotlicr hack- ward in development, but it is more his misfor- tune than fault, and so he shall not be slighted and abused for what he can't help. On the other hand, such cases sometnnos call out the more sym- pathy, and it is curious to see how the poor, little lagging ones pick up pluck and flesh, now and 32 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. then, under careful treatment, and even come out first where they went in last. Every farmer finds, sooner or later, that it pays to care kindly for his live stock. He realizes that there is less waste of fodder when it is intelligent- ly adapted to the animal's wants, and less required to supply them when comfort is consulted. He has not to keep piling up fodder to enable his horse and cow to thaw the cold out, for he had early taken the precaution to let as little of it in as possible. A merciful man, however, is not invariably mer- ciful to his beast. But the exceptions result more from thoughtlessness than deliberate intention. You may find a good, clever fellow, who would no more think of violating the statute against cruelty to animals, than that against housebreaking. He Avould no more be seen knocking down his horse than his neighbor, and yet, were his dumb beast gifted like a certain one we read of, he might as plainly rebuke his master. The man perhaps has been in the habit of thinking ,from his childhood up, that domestic animals, like wild ones, can shift for themselves — or he may imagine that some, besides chameleons, can live on air — or that oth- ers, besides those starved army hordes which i-e- cently are said to have devoured a thousand dol- lars worth or so of lumber, can subsist on "post- fodder." Then, again, no doubt, there are some naturally kind persons who live under the delusion that kindness to brutes of any sort is like pearls cast before swine; they won't appreciate it. But the same rule applies to their own species. They will find certain of their own fellow-mortals, who are no more susceptible, apparently, to the 'law of kindness than so many brutes. But the trouble is, such have been so neglected or maltreated, at one time and another, that they have come to understand only the language of hard knocks and frowns ; and it is somewhat thus with their fellow-unfortunates a little lower in the scale of creation. Cannot both, however, be won over by patient, kindly painstaking ? The skinflint, who grudges himself and family the food and raiment they need, will of course be- grudge his other live stock their necessaries of life and health, but, as has been before intimated, he stands in his own light, for kindness, as well as honesty, is the best policy all round. And what shall be said of the absent-minded man, whose thoughts and wits are anywhere and everywhere, but about their owner ? He bowls ahead like Je- hu through thick and thin, holding the reins, and laying on the lash mechanically, until some sudden splash or jolt rouses him to consciousness of his whereabouts, and he makes what amends he can. When he gets home, he unharnesses the reeking, jaded nag, and if he don't forget to feed and wa- ter him, it is very apt to be because the hungry, neglected brute makes his wants known so loud and strong, that the absent one is recalled to his sense of duty in spite of himself. Then it is real- ly comical how repentant and apologetic he is sometimes to the offended beast, and promises never to be so overtaken again — only he can't stick to the pledge. It is a significant fact, that two most popular foreign authors of the day are specially noticeable for their fondness of animals. And another equal- ly eminent, though perhaps less popularly known, has gone so far as to discover in every animal's eye some intimation of humanity. Beecher, also, said in a recent sermon, that "beasts are much more moral than men generally are ;" and, indeed, there seems to be a growing disposition to accredit animals with something higher than mere instinct. Is not this, after all, the surest and strongest claim they have to our kindness ? Whatever be our speculations, like brutes they will ever live and die, but their conditions of life and death will be much relieved in proportion as they are appre- ciated. It is also an encouraging circumstance that pub- lic sentiment bears down with almost the force of law upon the cruel master, whether of man-servant or brute. The wilful transgressor in this respect will surely have the finger of scorn pointed at him, if not a sharp stick thrust nearer. And the un- conscious, careless off'ender will be pitied almost like the man who needs a guardian. The cosset lamb may be a plaything for the child, and the sucking calf or pig its natural pet, but no man need be ashamed to own his pets of the farm, nor think it but boy's play to encourage their caresses. And in studying their comfort and enjoyment, he is but obeying the will of Him who causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and feed- eth tlte young ravens when they cry. \v. E. B. Longmeadow, Nov., 1862. A WORD ON THE TOAD. The beautiful eye of the toad is proverbial, re- deeming the ungainliness of its general aspect, and having in all probability given rise to the fa- bled jewel within the head. Bright and richly colored as is the eye, with its round, bold, fiery, chestnut hue, it is without the least vestige of ex- pression, and retains its full brilliancy long after the animal is dead. As to venemous powers of the toad, they are not to be found in his mouth, as is popularly imagined, but in two rather large glands on the sides of the head, which project boldly, and are plainly visible. If one of these protuberances be squeezed between the fingers, a whitish creamy-looking liquid will be ejected, and perhaps to some little distance. While perform- ing this operation it will be well enough to hold the toad in such a manner that the secretion may not be shot into the eyes, as in that case it would cause severe pain, and might probably produce violent inflammation. Still, it will not be ejected without the employment of considerable force, and is never injurious to human beings. Briefly to sum up the character of the toad — it is not pretty, is entirely harmless, extremely useful, easily tamed, and worthy of being cherished by those who pi'efer deeds to outward seeming ; it is a creature of curious and interesting habits, and affords a rich field to any one with time and op- portunity, for clearing up several imjjortant but disputed points in physiology. — Once a Week. Solvent for Old Putty and Paint. — Soft soap mixed with solution of potash or caustic soda ; or pearl ash and slaked lime mixed with sufficient water to form a paste. Either of these laid on with an old brush or rag, and left for some hours, will render it easily removable. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 33 B. A. SMITH'S PATENT FARM TENCB. No. 1. No, 2. No. 3. We have frequently during the few past years had occasion to call the attention of our readers to some new plan of farm fences, and this week we present one patented in March last by Mr. R. A. Smith, of Newburyport. We have only seen it in model, and cannot, therefore, say as much as we might of its practica- bility. The cut gives a good representation of it, and scarcely needs any description. The fence is made entirely of one kind of stock, the uprights being of the same size as the rails. The alternate sections lean in opposite direc- tions, causing the fence to spread about two or two and a half feet on the ground, but giving it great strength and stability. It seems to possess these qualities in a great degree. We give a description of its construction, and for fuller information refer the reader to an adver- tisement in the columns of this paper. The above cut represents three sections of the fence set up. In section No. 1, the letters a a a a, represent the rails as fastened to the posts b b b. The mortise for the cross-bars are shown at c c. To set up the fence, take two sections and set as represented in the cut, at such an angle that the upper and second rails shall interlock each other on opposite sides of the uprights as at e ; then press in the lower ends of the uprights, and put in the cross-bar d. This cross-bar, which is made to pass from mortise in section No. 1, to mortise in section No. 2, if properly fitted, holds the bot- tom of the sections from spreading, as when the fence spreads the lower and second rails bear on [ the cross-bar edgewise, so that the cross-bar holds the sections, and the sections hold the cross-bar, making a complete dove-tail, — thus making a strong, light and cheap portable fence. — it fires the brain, sharpens the appetite, derang- es and weakens the physical system. On the same sideboard upon which this delicious beverage is served lies a newspaper. It is covered with half a million of types — it brings intelligence from the four quarters of the globe. The newspaper costs less than the glass of grog — the juice of a few grains of corn ; but it is no less strange than true that there is a large portion of the communi- ty who think corn juice cheap and the newspaper dear ! Whisky and Newspapers. — A glass of whis- ky is manufactured from perhaps a dozen grains of corn, the value of which is too small to be es- timated. A pint of this mixture sells for one shilling, and, if of a good brand, is considered well worth the money. It is drank in a minute or two LIME— ITS USES AND ITS ACTION. Many farmers appear to doubt the utility of lime in agriculture. Yet no fact is more incon- trovertibly demonstrated by science, than that lime is indispensably necessary to tbe develop- ment and even existence of both animals and plants ; and as it is detectable in the organized structure of the latter, there is a necessity for its existing previously in the soil, or for its being supplied, artificially, as manure. Chemical analyses have demonstrated that in every one thousand pounds avoirdupois of the following materials, the quantity of lime is as fol- lows : Wheat. Barley. Oats. Potatoes. Turnips. %Vu'nan?'i 1 1-0 0-9 0-3 0.8 The very limited quantity of lime, however, which these vegetables contain, ought by no means to be regarded as a criterion in determin- ing the quantity to be applied to the soil. The action of this important mineral is to be developed in other ways than that of merely aflbrding a necessary ingredient to plants, and is cognizable in a variety of modes, both as regards its effects upon the mineral and vegetable substances con- tained in the soil, and, indeed, upon the pliysical character and construction of tlie soil itself. When applied to tenacious clays, it induces relaxation, renders the soil light and friable, and corrects its acidity by its alkalescent action upon the native 34 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. acids, which it neutralizes and converts into man- ure. On sandy or arenaceous soils, its action is strongly binding ; rendering the texture more compact and compressible, and neutralizing the salts of iron which generally operate as a noxious influence upon both the soil and its produce. By the action it has on the vegetable humiis, and other organic substances, it generates soluble compounds, and fructifying gases — carbonic acid, ammonia and other soluble products — all of which assist the vegetable action either by being absorbed by the moisture contained in the soil, and thus entering the circulation through the me- dium of the saj) in conjunction with the humate of lime, and other principles, or by being absorbed by the leaves and stalks in a gaseous or volatilized state. It possesses also the power of decomposing al- kaline silicates, with several valuable and highly efficient salts, and by this means of rendering them appropriable by plants, — also of supplying alkalies to the sap, without which, in some quan- tity, the vegetable would cease to grow, and even to survive. Again, lime disposes the soil to absorb oxygen from the atmosphere, and by its strong chemical affinities, it effects a variety of useful combinations and decompositions, thus inducing chemical ac- tivity, and the evolution of electricity, one of the most efficient and powerful agents known in na- ture. In all composts there should be more or less lime used, according to the character of the soil to which it is to be applied, — but used in a mild form, unless applied to heaps of crude materials. KEEPING FKUIT THROUGH WINTER. How to ripen fruits, is a branch of pomological knowledge as important as how to grow them ; yet it is one very little understood. It is questionable whether this knowledge can be taught ; for expe- rience shows that no rule is applicable to all vari- eties alike — for some apples and pears are im- proved by being taken off the trees before they are ripe, while other kinds are best when left on the tree as long as possible. With regard to applesand pears — kinds of fi'uit most generally understood when we talk about preserving fruits — the fall fruits, for the most part, are best gathered a few days, or, it may be, a week, before they would drop of their own accord from the tree ; while others ripening at the same sea- son are best left on until they will scarcely bear their own weight without falling. The Bartlett pear, for instance, may be gathered at least two weeks before apparently ripe, and will mature well in a cool, shady place, and, to some tastes, be even better for it ; while the Duchess d'Angou- leme is ruined by what, in the same instance, would be called premature gathering. All these nice points have to be practically determined — and the only safe general rule can be given, that when a fruit will part readily from the tree when gently lifted ; or, when the seeds inside are of a deep black color, the crop may be gathered and stored away. In most cases, by far too many fall-ripening va- rieties of fruit are planted. If the orchard be in- "tended to supply family consumption, the crop will not keep till all is used ; and if for market purposes, many will rot before purchasers are found for them ; or more important duties have to be neglected to give attention to them. Where a great abundance of fall fruit exists, and it is de- sii'able to keep theui as long as possible, they shou4d be gathered before fully ripe, just as the seeds are changing color, and kept in a cool, dark room — one not too dry, however — until they can receive attention. This coolness and darkness is moreover the main secret of kee])ing fruit of the winter ripening kinds through to their proper season ; and it is in endeavoring to find the exact conditions, that so many fail. If too dry, they shrivel — if too hot, they prematurely ripen, and are worthless — if too damp, they rot ; and if too cold, they are tasteless and insipid. To just hit the mark is not easy to a beginner, and yet in practice it is found — not so difficult as it appears to be. Some house cellars are so constructed as to be just the suitable thing; but the majority usually border on some one of the exti'emes we have noted. Probably the best plan for the apple, whei*e the fruit is perfectly sound, is to carefully hand-pick the fruit, and pack them gently in flour barrels, being careful not to bruise them in the least, eith- er in filling the barrels or in handling them after- wards. In this way they will keep in cool cellars that are tolerably dry, when in the same cellars, they would probably shrivel on open shelves. Where the fruit is subject to the depredations of the apple moth, or to fungoid diseases, this plan is liable to objections, as the injured fruit will de- cay, and is difficult to get at inside the barrels ; and if not taken out in time, a considerable por- tion of the fruit will be destroyed by the heat evolved in putrefaction. The English fruit rooms, which are mostly constructed more with an eye to perfect fruit preserving and ripening, than to econ- omy of arrangement, however, are usually made expressly for fruit, and all gardens of any preten- sions, have the fruit- room as regularly as the tool- shed. They are usually built on the north side of a wall, or other buildings, in order to secure a regular temperature. The walls are thick to en- sure against frost penetrating them, and many of them have a roof of straw thatch which tends still more to keep out frost, and a regular natural tem- peratiwe inside — along all four sides of the build- ing are tiers of shelves, arranged one above anoth- er, like the sleeping-berths of a ship, and on these boards are spread the fruit in thin layers — usually but one course thick. Some of them have venti- lation provided both from below and above ; but those we have seen were not thus arranged, and there were no means of communication with the external air, beyond what the doors and windows afforded. In these rooms, apples and pears- kept perfectly, ripening in succession, according to their season, and some of them keeping tUl apples and pears came again. The secret of their success undoubtedly is the keeping up of a natural temperature of between 40° and 50°. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 35 In our climate, this arrangement would not an- swer. The severity of the winters demand more protection from a low temperature than the strongest walls would alone aft'ord. Where a dry gravelly bank is at command, a room could be constructed, part beneath the surf\\ce, and part above — the exposed part covered with the earth thrown out from below ; which would make a fruit-room to perfection. After all, the keeping of fruit on a large scale is not within the wants of most of our readers, who have but a few bushels, and in whose eyes a spe- cial fruit-house would not be warranted by the small quantity to be kept. There is then no al- ternative, but to make the best use of the facilities cellars, rooms, or out-buildings afford ; and for this, barrels, boxes, cupboards and enclosed cases must be called into requisition ; being careful to ensure a temperature of about 40° to 50°, not too damp or dry, and if somewhat dark, the better. — Oardener^s Monthly. For the New England Farmer. AGRICULTURE IN COMMON SCHOOLS. Mr. Editor : — I propose to ofl'er a few more reasons, to show that practical and scientific agri- culture cannot be successfully taught in our com- mon schools. Perhaps this has been made suf- ficiently evident already, without any additional reasons. But I propose to pursue the subject a little further, and roll the car of reason along the plain atid smooth track of common sense, in order to make "More Anon," who manifests a disposi- tion to tread on the sore toes of others, "Clear the track when the bell rings." But to the point at issue : It is a sufficient an- swer to all that liaa been said, and to all that can be said, in favor of introducing the study of agri- culture into our schools, to say, that our common school-teachers are not qualified to teach it. They have not the requisite knowledge. And it is no disgrace or dishonor to them to acknowledge the fact, because it would be unreasonable to require them to teach what they do not understand, and what ought never to be taught in our common schools. They ought not to be required to teach agriculture, because it would be requiring them to teach more than they know, and more than they have ever had the means of knowing, and M-hat is foreign to the particular -purposes of common school education. Not one in a thousand is com- petent to teach it, and all who attempt it, will utterly fail in the attempt. The fact is, the sci- ence of agriculcure is not understood by school- teachers, and consequently they cannot teach it. It has a length, and breadth, and depth, beyond their utmost capacities. It requires a master's skill — a professor's knowledge — to fathom and un- ravel its mysteries, and teach it practically and scientifically. But it should be remembered, that a large proportion of teachers, both in summer and winter, are young and delicate females, who would make sorry work in teaching the science and practice of agriculture. Their instruction would be very much like that of the jabbering monkey in the cheese-room, who undertook to teach by example the best method of curing cheeses and keeping them from moulding ; and probablv they would nut bo any more successful or entertaining in their uistruciiou than the mon- key was. It is in vain to tell me, that scientific and practical agriculture can be successfully taught by young and delicate females. It cannot be done, and it ought not to be required of them. The employment is inconsistent with the dignity and simplicity of the female character, and with the modesty and delicacy of the sex. Again, it is a sufficient atiswer to all that hax been said, and to all that can Ix; said, in favor of introducing the study of agriculture into our com- mon schools, to say, that the children are quite too small, too yoimg and too ignorant to uniler- stand it. And yet "More Anon" would like to have all the teachers stand with the great pitcher of agricultural knowledge in hand, and endeavor to pour it into the infant minds of these little chil- dren, who have not the capacity to receive it. He will not wait to have their capacities developed, and their minds prepared for it by previous study. No ; he would have this knowledge poured into the minds of these children, while they are yet in the common schools. Whether they be males or females ; whether they understand the full force and meaning of language, or not ; no matter how deficient they may be in any of the common branches of a common school education ; and no matter what is to be their future occupation or pursuit ; they must all study agriculture, in order to please "More Anon." Now, as it is always best for scholars to learn their A, B, c's, before they attempt to learn to read, so it is always best to learn those preparatory studies which are es- sential to the understanding of any particular branch of science, before entering upon that study. The opposite course would be reversing the order of nature, and "putting the cart before the horse." In fine, it is a sufficient answer to all that has been said, and to all that can be said, in favor of introducing the study of agriculture into our com- mon schools, to say, that the people of New Eng- land will never permit it to be .done. They have a vote and a voice in this matter, and they will be heard ; and their influence will be felt. They are too wise and enlightened, and understand their own interests and the interests of their children too well, to allow of their being cheated out of their common school education. They understand the nature, design and operation of common schools too well to suff"er them to be perverted to other purposes than those for which they were original- ly established — the education of all children alike in the common branches of common school in- struction. No man nor body of men will ever be able to persuade, or to drive them from this posi- tion which they have taken from clear convictions of truth and duty. In their minds, truth and falsehood are so well defined, and the cliaracter of each so plainly traced, and so well understood, as to be beyond the power of any man to confound or obliterate. John Golusbury. Warwick, Mass., 1862. Grub in the Head of Sheep. — Dr. Dadd, in a communication to the Prairie Farmer, says the only way to prevent grub in the head of sheep, is to put plenty of wholesome "grub" into the stom- ach of the animal — and that it is a well known fact, that sheep properly attended to, well fed and housed, are never troubled with the parasite known as the grub. 36 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. CKOSS PLOWIIfQ. Opinions diflFer in regard to the expediency of cross plowing sward lands, — some contending that ■where the sward is comparatively light, such as is often found on old pastures or fields that have been long run out, cross plowing assists in the af- ter culture of the crop to a much greater extent than the cost of the cross plowing. We have thought this to be true in our own practice on such lands. But there is another point to be con- sidered, especially when heavy sward lands are to be wrought. We will state some of the reasons that occur to us. Unfermented vegetable and animal matters, when buried in the soil as aliment for crops, ought not to be exposed to the action of the sun and winds until they have completely decomposed. The gaseous products eliminated by stable ma- nure and other decomposable products, while in a fermenting state, always ascend, because they are specifically Kghter than atmospheric air. They consequently enrich the soil by which, if properly inhumed, they are fixed, and thus contribute to the sustenance and support of plants. K fermen- tation takes place on the surface, as we think it will, in some degree, under favorable circumstau- j ces, the gaseous products will be difi'used and lost. The quantity of actually soluble matter contained in an acre of well set sward land is much more considerable than many would imag- ine. An English writer has ascertained that a vigor- ous sward, inveiled in the latter part of summer, after the hay has been cut, or in the spring, before the grass has attained much growth, contains not less than thirty tons of vegetable matter to the acre ! This, when resolved to humiis by a well graduated decomposition, will aff"ord a highly sal- utary aliment to vegetation, and if permitted to decompose beneath the soil, will essentially con- tribute to its productiveness. "We make these remarks, bearing in mind all the time that de- composition is comparatively slow on the surface, and, also, the doctrine and practice, of some Eng- lish farmers and writers, that nothing is lost in surface manuring. In that climate there may not be. In ours, under the scorching suns that occur even in May and September, we firmly be- lieve it would be considerable. When, for the sake of a more thorough tilth, it is thought advisable to cross plow land, the first plowing should be deep, and the second, or cross plowing, shallow, in order that the pulverization, which is the object sought in the latter plowing, may be secured without disturbing the mass of vegetable matter turned down by the first. If the second plowing be as deep as the first, the furrow slice, or sward, will be cut, and brought to the surface, greatly to the annoyance of the work- men, and perhaps, to the soil and crop. In pul- verizing the surface of recently plowed green sward lands, the cultivator, or horse hoe, is far pre- ferable to the plow. It pulverizes thoroughly as far as its teeth penetrate, and does not go so far below the surface as to to disturb the sods. It is the practice in some sections of New Eng- land to plow the grass land intended for corn the next year, soon after the hay crop has been re- moved in July or August, allowing a few days for a new crop of leaves to start out after the grass is cut. It is thought by some with whom we have conversed, that this practice is an excellent one, though no reasons were given besides the one that the corn crop was much better than when the land was plowed late in the faU, or in the spring. If such is the fact, it will not be difficult to assign a reason or reasons for it. For tite New England Farmer. ARE APPLE ORCHARDS PROFITABLE ON ARABLE LAND ? Mr. Editor: — A few years ago, when the fruit-tree growing fever was raging at its highest pitch, when men got rich on unhatched chickens, and when one of my neighbors estimated his peach nursery at §1700 in a wakeful dream, I went a journey into the State of Elaine, laboring some- what under the same malady in a mild form, to visit a friend who was a practical farmer, and the owner of an ajjple orchard. On looking about on his and his neighbor's orchards, I saw but a few grafted trees. I said, "Mr. G., why do you not graft your trees and raise fruit for the market ?" I never shall forget the expression of his countenance as he replied to my question. "Why," he said, "it would be all lost labor, and that their markets were already glutted with good apples, and that cider would not pay for making." His remarks made so strong an impression upon my mind that my visions of getting rich by raising apples for the market began to vanish, till my mind, I am in hopes, was restored to a sound state. My neighbor, stated above, who valued his peach nursery at $1700, never realized 17 cents for his imaginary, inflated riches, and many other air-castles shared the same fate. As I have trav- elled over the counties of Essex and Middlesex of late, I have observed that much of the best soil was "devoted" to apple orchards, and (I believe in a true sense of the word "devoted,") many of them had hardly arrived to a producing state, and thousands, if not tens of thousands, of unproduc- tive nurslings are occupying some of the best soil in the State, to what result the revelations of the future must decide. Raising apples for the mar- ket in the vicinity of our seaboard cities, undoubt- edly, will be a profitable business ; the privilege of shipping and sending them to foreign markets will reduce the quantity some, but, in a jilentiful season, all our market towns consume but a pit- tance of the quantity grown. I have conversed w'ith some of the owners of the finest orchards in the county, (one of them living within a rifle shot of Lowell,) who told me that their apples did not pay the labor of nicking and carrying to maricet 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMED. 37 in theii' bearing season, which, as it so happens, are the even years of late, while on the odd years these same orchards did not produce enough for family use. Now the question is, in what manner can these surplus apples be disposed of to best advantage to indemnify the farmer ? All farmers know that cat- tle, horses and swine are extremely fond of aj)ple9, but will it pay the way to appropriate our best soil to raise apples for them? As cider sells, would it not pay better to make some of them into cider for vinegar, if for no other purpose ; ci- der is a much more wholesome beverage than the factitious wines so much used, and as long as peo- ple will have something stronger than cold water, would it not be a good substitute for those allur- ing counterfeit compounds, called wines. As a medicine I am practically convinced that cider is preferable to wine, so far as I have seen it used in the latter stages of protracted fevers. Apples are of more value than all other fruits combined. The pear, the peach, the smaller fruits, and the foreign fruits, hastily decay, and the a])ple is the only fruit, except the dried varieties, which will keep the year around. The war against na- ture, of attempting to change the producing sea- son by destroying the blossom, is a task that few farmers are able or willing to undertake ; fighting against God is a poor and unprofitable warfare, and is more hopeless than fighting against rebels. I have regretted, sometimes, on seeing farmers select their best arable soils for an orchard, when their neglected crevices between rocks and ledges would have been much more appropriate to the produciion of good apples. Apple trees grow and bear best upon an elevated, rocky soil — such a soil has not generally been worn out by constant cultivation and fleecing — and are much less subject to injury by frosts and insect depredators, than apple trees which grow on level plain lands. I have an impression that good arable land would be more remunerative to the farmer to raise grass, roots and grain crops upon, that jiroduce every year, than the capricious apple and other fruit trees that are under the control of the evil influ- ences of frost, curculios and other fruit depreda- tors, which make their producing season uncer- tain sometimes and far between. As far as my observation extends, the level plain lands are less productive than the high, mountainous, rocky swells. This present season I have observed, on travelling the road, that the apple trees on low ground and sandy plains pro- duced very sparingly, but advancing upon the ris- ing, rocky highlands, the trees were burdened with fruit. Now the question is fairly opened to discussion, are apple orchards more j^rofitable on good arable land than the same land used for some other useful and necessary productions ? Silas Brown. North Wilmington, Nov. 25, 1862. Don't Eat too Mucn. — The celebrated Aber- nethy once remarked to a friend : "I tell you hon- estly what I think is the whole cause of the com- plicated maladies of the human frame ; it is their germandizing and stuffing and stimulating the digestive organs to excess ; thereby creating irri- tation. The state of our minds is another cause — the fidgeting and discontenting ourselves about what cannot be helped — passions of all kinds; malignant passions, and worldly cares pressing upon the mind, disturb the central action, and do a great deal of harm." FACTS ABOUT APPLES. We have an old apple tree which was revived by trimming and grafting it with Baldwin scions fourteen years ago. It had been greatly Tioglect- ed, and was fast running to ruin when the work of renovation was commenced. The trimming and grafting procees was not done at once, but judiciously continued through three years. Dur- ing this time the sward was dug up and pulver- ized, and the soil for a diameter of twenty feet about the tree was manured and dressed two or three times with wood ashes. The manure was slightly dug in when applied. The new grafts began to bear, moderately, the third year, and gradually increased, until in 18G0 they gave us seventeen barrels of apples. In 1861, they yielded only a peck or two, and the present year, 1862, twenty-one barrels, most of v/hich were medium- sized, marketable apples! Another tree, which had scarcely a sound limb upon it, was renovated at the same time. This, however, produced the Hunt jRus.tet apple, and did not need grafting. The dead wood was cut away, the top thinned a little, and a mound of good soil raised a foot in height about the trunk. The ground under the branches was dressed with ashes and old com- posts, about every other year for six years. The tree commenced bearing the summer succeeding the care bestowed upon it, and has averaged about two barrels per year since. These apples were especially valuable, as it was the only tree on the place that furnished any fit for family tise. By considerable pleasant care, and a moderate ex- pense, we have been enabled to gather this year about one hundred and twenty-five barrels of very fine apples. In connection with the above, the Farmington, (Me.) Chronicle says : The most important of all fruits that can be produced in temperate climates, if not the most important fruit which the Creator has bestowed upon man, is the apple. Were people generally in j)ossessi()u of information which would enable them to form conclusions in relation to the value of a single apple tree, no one who has a spot of terra firma large enough for a house lot, would neglect to plant one. Hayward speaks of an apple tree in Duxbur>-, Mass., which was upwards of 100 years old, was 16 feet in circumference eight inches above the ground, and which produced in one year fruit from which 10 barrels of cider were made, besides 30 bushels of apples for the cellar. An apple tree in Natick, Mass., was grafted to the Porter ap]ile wher. 7.5 years old, and the 7th year from grafting produced 15 barrels which sold for 30 dollars. 38 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. The original Hurlbut apple tree produced 40 bushels in one year, and 20 the next. The original Bars apple tree produced 60 in one year. In Orange, N. J., a Harrison apple tree pro- duced 100 bushels in one year. An apple tree in Farmington, Me,, produced 16 bushels the 16th year from the planting of the seed. Cole saj's he has had fruit from an apple tree in Plymouth, Mass., when the tree was 200 years old. An apple tree brought from England and plant- ed near Hartford, Ct., produced fruit when 209 years old. Several apple trees in the United States have trunks 12 feet in circumference. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. A NEW GRAPE. In the Farmer of Nov. 8 you say, "we have no good out-door grapes yet that are sufficiently har- dy to stand'the changes of our winters ;" we think we have a grape in progress — a grape for the mil- lion— a grai)e to climb around the poor man's cottage as well as on the rich man's arbor. George Curtis, of the United Society, in New Lebanon, has the honor of originating this grape, which is now cultivated in preference to all other varieties in that village. This grape, which he calls the "Aromatic," appears to be as hardy as the oak, is a heavy bearer, and certainly a deli- cious fruit. An excellent quality in them is that they commence ripening early in Septembeiv and continue until frost. They are a valuable keeping grape. We are not sure that they have been dis- seminated beyond that village as yet, their appre- ciation of it i-equiring many vines. It will proba- bly be brought before the public in due time. Nov. 10, 1862. _ W. Bacon. WARM FEET IN COLD WEATHER. Thinking some of the readers of the Farmer may be troubled to keep their feet warm in our cold climate, I propose to tell them how I care for mine. I have my winter boots made one size too large for m.y feet. I then have a pair of slippers made of sheepskin, tanned with the wool on, or a little of it. One taken off soon after the sheep are sheared will have a sufficient length of wool, (and such can be obtained at almost any tannery.) It is necessary to have the slipper an exact fit for the foot over the stocking, or it will wrinkle when the boot is drawn over it. They can be made of calf skin, tanned with the hair on, but I think wool is warmer, and the advantage of this plan over a lined boot is, that the slipper which will generally be left in the boot when it is taken off, can be pulled out and dried e\'ery night, and the boot will be in much better condition than if it was lined. You can make a cut from the accompany- ing drawing and print it with this article ; any one who sees it could cut his own if he wished to. In making, the edges should be sewed with what is called the ball stitch, as that leaves the seam soft as any other part, and it may be left open on the instep far enough so that it can be put on with ease, and will not need lacing up after it is on. MILK FOR BUTTER. I know, from actual experiment, that five quarts of good milk, when the milk-room can be kept at the proper temperature, will make a pound of butter. HOW I BURN KEROSENE OIL IN A FLUID LAMP IN MY LANTERN. The only secret is to have the wick very loose. I use common candle wicking, and have it so loose that a slight blow of the lantern would jar the wick down — and to pi-event that I pinched in the tubes a little near the lower end. It is better not to fill the lamp more thanhalf fuUof oil — then, by keeping the wick about level with the end of the tube, you will get a clear, steady flame. It requires the least trimming of any lamp I ever used. When once properly adjusted, it Avill burn three hours, every night for a week^ without pick- ing up or trimming. W. I. Simonds. Eoxbury, Vt., Nov., 1862. Remarks. — The pattern for cutting the slippers is very plain — but since the rebellion began, near- ly all our women have learned to cut slippers with great correctness and ease. GROWTH OF forest TREES. I recently heard a distinguished farmer of Es- sex county say that his lands covered with young forest trees were more productive than those which he planted with corn or any other kind of grain. The same idea I remember to have heard put forth by the late Hon. Asa T. Newhall, of Lynnfield, who died leaving several hundred acres of woodland. Both of these gentlemen said they had watched the growth of their trees, and taken such measurement, from time to time, that they could tell how many cords of wood their lands in- creased annually, as well as the number of bush- els of corn they gathered. If this be so, it opens a new field of culture ; for nothing is more in de- mand than good wood, and nothing is more rapid- ly falling away from our markets. p. December, 1862. ELECTRICITY FOR PLANTS. I have made an experiment with electricity in cultivation, the past season, and propose to give an account of my success, for the benefit of others who may choose to try it. I made the experiment with some tomatoes, tha seed of which was planted in boxes and kept in the sun, by a window, so as to obtain early plants. In the meantime, I prepared the bed as beds for other vegetables are prepared; it was 12 by 6 feet, and I enclosed it with a wire which was buried about three inches below the surface of the ground, and from the middle of the ends of the bed another wire was attached to the buried Avire, and this wire was held from the ground by some poles ; one was three feet and the other four feet. At the corners of the bed, there were some sticks driven down to keep the buried wire in its place, the wire on the longest sides of the bed ly- ing due North and South. When the plants had attained the size for transplanting, I set a row in the bed, and at the same time another row in another bed, prepared in the same way, with the exception of the wires, 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 39 and as the plants in the boxes continued to come up and grow, I set more into the bed with the wires, and watched the result, which was most flattering ; the vines in the electric bed were, at least, two-thirds larger than the others, and filled with tomatoes from the bottom to the top. There were some cucumbers in the bed, and al- though perceptible, the result was not so marked ; I consider the experiment a success. The elec- tricity helps to disseminate the substance in the soil, and it may also help from the atmosphere. The idea of the experiment is not original with me, and I hope that others may try it. I will add a sketch of the wires, sticks, &c., as it will help to illustrate the theory. D. B. p. Scituate, Dec. 1, 1862. Rejurks. — We thank our correspondent for his interesting experiment, but cannot give his il- lustration short of an engraving. We hope oth- ers will communicate to us freely of such matters as they think will be useful. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." While our friends Goldsbury and Bacon are disputing about what can or cannot be taught in our common schools, may we not derive instruc- tion from the contemplation of the sentiment we have selected. It is neither more or less than this : Let boys be taught when young, what they will have occasion to practice in after life. It is no ar- gument to say that schools are not properly fur- nished with agricultural implements to pursue the science of agriculture to advantage, because they should be furnished with everything necessarj- for the benefit of the pupils. It will cost no more to provide ])lows and shovels, than dictionaries and grammars ; the one are the tools of the farmer's trade, the other of the scholar's. In New Eng- land full one-half of the boys that grow up are di- rectly interested in the culture of the soil ; there- fore they should be taught how to cultivate it. Nov. 29, 1862. _ P. HOW TO lkL\KE A LEMON TREE BEAR. Having a lemon tree six or seven years old, I wish to know what I shall do to make it bear fruit ? Please answer through the Farmer. Bristol Co., Nov. 14, 1862. Geo., Jr. Remarks. — We do not know. Will some one who does, inform our fi-iend ? For the ^eic England Farmer. OLD APPLE ORCHARDS. Mr. Editor : — There is much said and written about the management of apple trees at this time, and much that is erroneous to my mind. One of your correspondents recommends using a Michi- gan plow with a strong team to tear the soil to pieces ; that is the last thing I should do, espe- cially for an orchard that has commenced bearing. Now, let me tell my experience. I have had two farms with two old orchards where the trees were on the declirte. One of them I plowed and trimmed off the old and decayed branches, and left the young sprouts to grow, and in the course of six years I had some quite thrifty trees. On the last farm, I have adopted another course, — that is, I have put in hogs through the spring, sum- mer and fall, and I find a saving in expense in keeping, and the advantage to my trees, far great- er than any thing 1 could do with the plow. They not only dig round the roots of the trees, but eat the apples that droj), and destroy the worms. I have had eight — four old hogs and four jjigs — in my orchard this season, and am satisfied that the refuse apples are worth more for them than they are paying for cider apples. Jonathan Bartlett. Northhoro\ Nov. 29, 1862. LADIES' DEPARTMENT. POWER OP THE WILL. Children often rise in the morning in anything but an amiable frame of mind. Petulent.'impa- tient, quarrelsome, they cannot be spoken to or touched without producing an explosion of ill-na- ture. Sleep seems to have been a bath of vinegeir to them, and one would think the fluid had "in- vaded their mouth and nose and eyes and ears, and had been absorbed by every pore of their sen- sitive skins. In a condition Uke this, I have seen them bent over the parental knee and their per- sons subjected to blows from the parental palm ; and they have emerged from the infliction with the vinegar all expelled, and their faces shining like the morning — the transition complete and sat- isfactory to all the parties. Three-quarters of the moods that men and women find themselves in are just as much under the control of the will as this. The man who rises in the morning, with his feel- ings all bristling like the quills of a hedgehog, simply needs to be knocked down. Like a solu- tion of certain salts, he requires a rap to make him crystallize. A great many mean things are done in the family for which moods are put for- ward as the excuse, when the moods themselves are the most inexcusable things of all. A man or a woman in tolerable health has no moral right to indulge in an unpleasant mood, or to depend upon moods for the performance of the duties of life. If a bad mood come to such persons as these, it is to be shaken off by a direct effort of the will, un- der all circumstances. — Timothy I'itcomb's Les- sons i?i Life. RoMPHs'G. — Don't be afraid of a little romping on the part of your girls, and never punish them for indulging in it, but thank Heaven, who has endowed them so largely with animal spirits. These must have vent in some way, and better the glow which a little romping imparts to the cheeks than a distorted spine or a pallid brow. Health is one of the greatest of blessings, and only a good share of physical exercise can secure this to children. Let them romp, then, even if they do make some noise and tear their dresses occasionally, and lead you to cry out, "O dear ! what shall I do ?" Yes, let them romp. Sober times will come by and by. Life brings its cares soon enough to all ; and let the children be happy while they are young. God made them to be hao- py, and why should parents thwart his plans ? We do not believe in a dull childhood, but in cheer- fulness in age. — Home Journal. 40 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Jan. CONTENTS or THIS NUMBER. January Page 9 Force— Men and Horses Compared— Dry Food for Hogs 10 Hong Kong, China H Agriculture in Common Schools 13 Grape Culture- Vegetable Growth 14 Agriculture in Common Schools 15 Exhibiting Herds of Cattle 15 A Beautiful Cotswold Buck 16 The American Soldier 17 "How is it, then, that Farmers Get Along?" 17 Production of Grain — Punctuality 18 Autumn — Winter — James S. Grennell 19 The Vear of Fruits 19 The Grape Cure 20 Potato Starch — How the French Economize 21 What is Done with Herring — Old Eagles and their Nests 22 Home After Business Hours 22 Retrospective Notes 23 The Eye of the Crab— Little Hungry Minds 24 N. Franklin (Me.) Agricultural Society's Show and Fair 25 Farm Buildings and Fences 25 Estimating tiie Capacity of Barns 25 Tillin? Orchards— The Birds of New England 26 Flax— Barley— Wheat 28 American Pomological Society 28 How the Turks Smoke 29 Essex County Show — Saw-Dust for Stables 29 Papier Macbe — Trust — Pruning Forest Trees 30 Westford Acadelny — Large Deposit of Honey 31 Kindness to Animals — A Word on the Toad 32 R. A. Smith's Patent Farm Fence 33 Keeping Fruit Through Winter 34 Culture in Common Schools — Grub in the Head of Sheep.... 35 Cross Plowing 36 Are Apple Orchards Profitable on Arable Land ? 36 Facts About Apples .37 Extracts and Replies 38 Old Apple Orchards — Ladies' Department HQ Cattle Market for December 40 REDUCTION IN SIZE. As we intimated in the December number, we send out the Farmer, this month, somewhat reduc- ed in thickness. We have made no change in the size or style of the page, so that the volume when completed and bound will be as nearly uniform with former volumes as possible. This change is rendered necessary by the large advance in the price of paper, which, though it may not be sus- tained for many months at its present high figure, will in all probability cost us during the entire year an advance of fifty per cent, on last year's price. We make as little change as possible in the appearance of our magazine, and shall restore it to its old size at the earliest moment we can do so without actual loss. CATTLE MARKETS FOR DECEMBER. The following is a summary of tho reports for the four weeks ending December 18, 1862 : NUMBER AT MARKET. S/ieep and Shotes and Lire Cattle. Lambs. Fit's. Fat Hogs. November 26. .. 923 2153 400 1800 December 4. . . .2.332 4802 300 2600 " 11.. ..3173 4420 350 2000 " 18.. Total.. . 2717 4184 200 1250 2000 .9,145 15,559 8,400 The following table shows the number of cattle and sheep from the several States, for the last four weeks : H^^ The government is now daily feeding in the city of New Orleans more than 32,000 whites, 17,- 000 of whom are British subjects, and mostly claim- ing British protection. Of all this vast number of poor, only about one thousand are native Ameri- cans— the rest are made up of the several national- ities represented here from all parts of the globe. Beside all this drain upon the generosity of the gov- ernment, there are 10,000 negroes to feed. Cattle. Sheep. Maine 1497 3763 1105 Vermont 4496 S66S 444 Northern New York 392 577 Canada 361 3564 Western States 805 438 Total, last four weeks 9,145 15,359 Corresponding four weeks, ( - -r, last year. \ ^'^"^ 13,231 PRICES. Nor. 26. Dec. 4. Dec. 11. Dec. 18 Beef,^Ib 3J(S63 4 @7 4 @7 4|@7J Sheep and lambs $2 @43 $3 ©5 $3 ®5i $2 (g5| Swine, stores, wh'le... 4 ig4^ 4 ©6 4 @5 4 &bh » " retail... 4 (g6 4Jia6^ 5 (g6| 4i@€i Fat hogs, live weight.. .4 (g5 4 (35 5 @ 5 @ Remarks. — During these four weeks there have been at mar- ket 1378 cattle and 2328 sheep more than there were last yea» for the four corresponding weeks. At the same time the number of Western cattle and sheep is much smaller this year than last. Last year we reported 1702 Western cattle and 2328 sheep, and this year only 805 cattle and 438 sheep are put down as coming fi-om Albany. This deficiency has been well supplied this year by Northern and Eastern oxen ; thus distributing among the farmers of New England probably over seventy thousand dollars of the sum which was paid out last year for Western stock. The proportion of oxen has been unusually large during the month, and that of store and small beef cattle much smaller than it was in October. The supply of choice extra beef has been small, while that of the second and third qualities of beef has been too large for the market, and some cattle have remained unsold at the close of the last two markets. Consequently there has betn a greater advance on extra beef than on the ordinary qualities. Two year-olds, &c., have improved more than common oxen, for which the market has been quite dull for the last two weeks. For some time past most of the sheep which are brought to market, are engaged to certain butchers before their arrival. Consequently there has been but little seen or heard of the sale of sheep. From 4}i to 5J4C #'lb.,has been the range of fair and good sheep ; a few large and fat at 6c. Comparatively few however have as yet been sold by the pound, most being taken at so much per head. The variation of the figures in our scale of prices for sheep indicates rather the change in qup.lity than in price. Prices have been pretty uniform during the month, while the quality has varied much. At the last market there was a lot of 200 "pelters" from Canada, which sold for $2 per head or less ; while the two previous weeks we heard of no lots be- ing sold under $3. Working oxen have been plenty during the month, and have been sold at about their value for the shambles. Milch cows have been in fair demand, and prices remain about the same as heretofore. Cows and young calves from $25 to $35 — inferior ones have sold for less, and those warranted superior for more. The average value of cows may bo illustrated perhaps by a sale outside of the market. In one of the towns in the vicinity of Boston, the stock of a milk-farm was recently sold, among which were 65 cows, which were sold, at auction, at an average price of $28 per head. The stock was regarded as a very good selection. Hides, 8c '^ ft. Tallow 8c. CaU skins, 123^0. Pelts $1,75 to $2,00. erable pony — no after care can atone for neglect daring iho first twelve months. Good pasture (mountain if pos.'iible) the next season, and plenty of hay the next winter, with a quart of grain if couveuieitt, will iHing you a finelv formed, powerful two yenr old. If a horse, alter liim early, before fn time, and turn to good grass. In tlie fall begin to In-eak, by bitting gradually tighter each day — within two weeks you have his head as high and graceful as nature allows. The neck should be arched and the face vertical, without constraint. When the bitting is accomplished, put on your harness and let the straps dangle around his legs ; continue this until he pays no attention to them, but do not fatigue the" colt either in the bitting bridle or harness. The bend- ing in of the neck is exceedingly painful, and should be done by degrees, the work requiring two weeks. While in the bitting bridle, exercise him on a circle to the right and left, alternately, the radius never less than 10 to 15 feet, otherwise he will learn to step too short. JIake him walk and walk /(/si while walking; no gait is more impor- tant, and our Agricultural Society should offer premiums for fast walkers. AVhile harnessed, ac- custom the colt to wagons, sulkies, &c., by run- ning them around and about him. Then harness to the sulky and lead him several days until he no longer notices the pushing or jostling of the vehicle. Then let one get in while another leads, and so gradualJij get him accustomed to all around him ; on finding he is not hurt he will soon be- come quiet. Occasionally harness double with a steady, quiet horse, but put on no load. Teach him to back by standing in front and pressing on the bit — calling out "back," &c. Always caress when he has done his duty. During the second Minter, hitch in double, making the other horse draw all the weight and drive for a short distance (say one-quarter of a mile at a time) alternately, fast and slow. Train your colts to three gaits in harness, the fast walk always, the moderate or road gate for distance, and the rapid trot. As if we desired to make a man a good dancer, we would begin young while the limbs were nimble and the actions graceful — so if wc desire a fast walker and a fast trotter too, we must take the colt while young, and so when pressed, he will take up the fast trot, instead of the gallop, so nat- ural in after years. A horse can be trained that he is to trot and not break up, as well as the boy can that he is to glide but never jump in the waltz. We do not pretend that all horses will learn to trot equally fist more than all the boys dance equallv well, but all can be trained to exert every muscle in the trot as weU as in the run. Colls should never be driven fast for long distances ; they become leg-weary and cut themselves or "in- terfere" as it is called. .\t three years old, the horse can perform very moderate work. At four, more still, but not until five should he he ex- pected to do "a day's work," and better yet if de- ferred until six ; most horses are ruined before five, by early and injudicious driving or brutal treatment of "some kind. The /ar/ner can best use horses up to this age ; all his work can be done by his brood mares and colts, and leave all his ma- tured horses for market. One horse thus raised and trained is worth two such, as we now often 54 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. meet, and so the breeder's purse will prove who tries it. GROOMING AXD FEEDING HORSES. Every horse should be thoroughly cleaned each day. The bedding, instead of being thrown under his manger to fill his food, his eyes and his lungs with ammonia, should be thrown behind him or out of doors to air. His manger should be kept clean and once a week washed with salt and water and salt left in it. One night in each week he should have a warm bran mash — eight quarts— generally given on Saturday night, as it is somewhat loosening and weakening, and the horse is presumed to be idle on Sunday. Oats are by far the best food, and ground oats wet with water is better than whole dry grain. Cut hay is a great saving, and moistened and sprinkled with ground oats, forms the best of food. The hull of the oats is hard and often unmasticated, and passes undigested through the system, thus taking away instead of imparting strength and nutrition. For medium sized horses, with moderate work, nine to twelve quarts of oats per day and fourteen pounds of hay are ample. For large draft horses, eighteen quarts oats and sixteen pounds hay. Food consisting of one-third corn ground with two-thirds oats forms strong, hearty, lointer food for work or coach horses. But corn is unfit for road or fast horses. It is too heating. Good beds and good grooming are as important as good feeding. Horses, like men, want good, dry, warm, clean beds. In grooming, tie your horse so he can't bite his manger and thus learn to crib bite ; and if you find your groom currying and torment- ing the poor animal when tied, so he is uneasy and restless, use your stable broom over the groom's back — it is an excellent instructor to teach him to be gentle. Let the currycomb be very moderately used on the body to loosen up the scurf and dirt, but never permit one near the mane and tail. Rely mainly on the bncsh and rough cloth for cleaning. Banish combs from your stable. They tear out more hair in a day than will grow in a month, and they ruin all the manes and tails that are ruined. The tail should be washed with castile soap and water once every week, and brushed with a wet brush every day in the year, holding up the bone of the tail and brushing the hair from you. Half an hour is enough for a good groom to one horse, but one hour's time at the outside, ample to be very com- plete. City horses on dry floors should have cow manure put into their feet once a week, to draw out fever and keep hoofs growing. It should be put in over night and allowed to wear out of itself. To conclude, always be gentle about your horse's body, especially his head — "more haste less speed" is peculiarly applicable to grooming and breaking. Use whips as little as possible — use your reason and exercise patience and kindness, and instil by precept and example the same useful lessons in those untutored creatures denominated grooms — and if you cannot inculcate wholesome truths into their heads, you can ameliorate the condition of that much abused animal, the horse, by occasion- ally exemplifying the power of their own treat- ment on themselves. the sun and wind, extend exceedingly in height, but present at the same time slender and feeble branches ; their leaves are pale and sickly, and in extreme cases, they do not bear fruit. The exclu- sion of light alone is sufficient to produce tliis spe- cies of disease. Sunlight and Air. — Shrubs and trees which are too much sheltered, too much secluded from For the New England Farmer. AGKICITLTURAIi KNOWLEDGE— FARM- ERS' CLUBS. Mr. Editor : — Your able correspondent, "John Goldsbury," comes out in strong terms against the teaching of agriculture in common schools, while "More Anon" is perhaps as strong an advo- cate in favor of our schools teaching this branch. Now, Mr. Editor, it looks to me that this is not bringing the matter any nearer to a point. What matters it whether agriculture is taught in com- mon schools, or schools got up for the particular purpose of advancing agricultural knowledge ? Undoubtedly, J. G. would advocate the teaching of agriculture to our young men, and every word that he proclaims against the teaching of it in common schools, through the press, has its bear- ing on the mind of the young reader. For one, it would be much more pleasing and interesting to me to take up the Farmer and read from the pen of John Goldsbury an article treating upon the ne- cessity of an agricultural school for the instruc- tion of our young men in the science and prac- tice of agriculture. I ^\^ll know that the science of agi'iculture has never been brought up before the mind of the farmer as it will be in years to come, and should have been in years gone by. If agriculture can be taught in common schools to advantage in connection with other branches, then let it be taught there ; but if not, then let us do all in our power to encourage the establish- ment of schools for the particular purpose of in- structing in agriculture. I believe that a thor- ough knowledge of the combinations of the soil and its elements, and also those elements neces- sary for the growth of certain plants, is just as essential to the farmer as education is to the law- yer, the minister or statesman, and that the suc- cess and prosperity of the farmer depends upon his knowledge of his business, just as much as the success of the school-teacher depends upon his qualifications as a teacher. It has always been considered that the young man who was unfit for any other business could be a farmer ; could plant corn with a shovelful of manure in the hill, and hill up the corn to keep the wind from blowing it down, because his fa- ther did so before him ; for tliis he is not to blame. The agricultural Avorld itself is to be blamed that it has not ere this waked up to a sense of its du- ty, and labored with an understanding mind when it has Cultivated good old mother earth. I trust the time is not far distant when our New England hills shall be interspersed with schools where agricultural knowledge shall be imparted to the j'oung. Many a man will sneer at this, I am aware by experience, but let it only nerve us the harder, and time will show to this class of farmers, who laugh at book farming, (as they term it.) whether there is anything to be gained by a thorough knowledge of our business. The farmers' club is a fine thing for gathering to- gether this class, and discussing agricultural top- I 1863. NEW EXGLAND FARMER. 55 ics. It creates a good feeling between neighbor farmers, and what one farmer by his experiments has found to be valuable will be communicated to others, and thus all may be benefited. These clubs are getting to be quite numerous in this vi- cinity, and I think they are helping along the ag- ricultural interest very much. Althougli we are involved in war, and many of our young farmers are gone to fight for those who stay behind, and our help is greatly reduced, still, there is no rea- son why we should falter ; but, on the other hand, we should feel that much more devolves upon us, and that the cultivation of the soil is to support the war. J. E. WiGUT. Hartford, Dec. 14, 1862. For the New Ensland Farmer. ■WINTERING BEES. ISIr. Editor : — To winter bees successfully in our cold northern climate, is a question of great moment with the apiculturist. There seems to be almost as many ways recommended as there are bee-kee])ers. Having had several years' expe- rience in this business in Northern Vermont, I have arrived at this conclusion, that bees should have for their welfare in winter, a dark, cool, dry, still place, where the temperature is even as pos- sible, and about Jioe degrees above the freezing point, or 35 degrees Fahrenheit. In this tempera- ture, the bees will remain very still and quiet, and will require but little honey to what they would if kept in a warmer place. In the first of my expe- rience, I was advised to put my bees into a tight dark room in the house. I did so, and the conse- quence was, I lost many of my bees before spring ; during the warm days in the winter, the bees would become very lively and crawl out of the hives upon the floor, and if there was a ray of I light, they were sure to find it, and would there '- ' perish ; if shut into the hives, they would create such a heat in trying to get out that they would melt their comb and become drowned in their own sweets. This I found was owing principally to the outside temperature being so changealDle, and the want of proper ventilation. Wintering bees out of doors, as practiced by a lai-ge proportion of amateur bee-keepers, is always attended with bad results, as nearly one half the stocks are frequently lost, and those that are not, are so reduced in number, that they will not swarm the coming season, there not being bees enough to permit of it, and consequently are worth but little to their owners. When bees stand out of doors, every warm day during the winter they are inclined to fly from the hive, and thou- sands of them get chilled and are lost, and where there was a peck of bees in the hive in the foil, by spring there may be but a handful left. In the Middle or Southern States, bees can be allowed to stand out of doors during the winter with safe- t)'. In my more recent observations and experi- ments, especially in the Northern States, I have found no place to winter bees in, equal to a dark, dry cellar. If the hives are rightly arranged, and the cellar ventilated by opening either a door or window in the night time, occasionally, there will be no loss of bees only what die of old age, and the comb will look nearly as whitf as in the fall previous. Bees when kept in a cellar of this kind, will no* make a discharge to soil the comb during the whole winter, and will consume but a very few pounds of honey — say about a pound to a thou- sand bees ; for ordinary swarms it would require from ten to twenty j)ounds of honey. At this low temperature, the bees will remain Verv quiet and still, and if the cellar is kept perfectly dark, they will remain so during the whole winter, and will hardly know when spring approaches, which will not be the case when kept in a room above ground or out of doors. Bees frequently receive more injury in being confined in the hive on the ap- proach of Spring, than they will if allowed to fly out. The time to put Bees into Winter Quarters depends somewhat upon the severity of tlie weath- er— usually the last of November or the 1st De- cember ; if the weather is not too cold, thev may safely remain out until near .Tanuaiy. They gen- erally sufler more in the latter part than in the beginning of winter. Position of the Hives when placed in the cellar. — If straw or the old-fashioned board Hive, they should be turned bottom-side up vn\.\\ the bottom- boards removed. Their animal heat will then drive all the dampness and mould out of the hive. The only disiidvantage in turning a hive bottom- side up, is, all the dead bees and particles of comb will drop among the combs in the bottom of the hive. But if there is honey enough there will be no trouble resulting from it, as when the hive is carried out-of-doors, and placed right side up, the bees will readily clear it out. If movable-comb Hives are used, the cap, boxes, &c., should be re- moved and the hive allowed to remain right side up, with the entrance closed. The time to remove Bees from the Cellar de- pends in a great measure upon the forwardness of the spring, and care should be taken that the weather is warm enough that the bees can safely fly from the hive and return again, always observ- ing to never set but a part of the hives out the same day, and always place them as near as prac- ticable on the same stand that they occupied the year previous, to avoid confusion and robbery. After the bees have all made their excursions, as they always will do on the first day, and dis- charge themselves, thousands of bees might then be saved by setting them back into tiie cellar again for three or four weeks, and at the same time supply each hive with a substitute for bee bread, which is Bye Meal (or common flour will answer) as bee bread or pollen is the first thing the bees will visit the fields for, in early spring ; by supplying them with this useful article the lives of a large number of bees will be saved which if allowed to stand out would be lost. BURYING BEES IN THE GROUND, is a practice that some inexperienced bee-keepers have resorted to, and not unfrequently with fear- ful loss. The object aimed at, seems to be the low, even temperature that our cellar afi"ords. In a light, loose sandy soil, if the bees are pro])erly buried, there are instances where they have lived through it. I have frequently heard it remarked by those who advocate this process that the hives were as heavy in the Spring as they were the Fall before ; should the bees all perish as I have re- peatedly seen, this theory might prove time. I 56 XEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. have yet to learn if bees can be wintered in any place without consuming some honey ; it is true, if bees are kept in a damp place, and should they survive the dampness, the amount of honey they would consume will be small, the weight of which would be balanced by the dampness and mould which the comb will take up, so that the hive would be nearly as heavy in the Spring as in the Fall previous. K. P. KiDDER, Practical Apiculturist. Burlington, Vt., 1862. For the New England Farmer, LITTLE THINGS: Or a Walk in My Garden, agricultural education. Mr. Editor : — Your correspondent, "More Anon," in his article on agriculture in common schools, in your issue of Dec. 6, pleases me much, because it exhibits so much good common sense. His idea is, that if any parents or boys should express a desire that the latter should have the privilege of studying the science of agriculture in the common schools, it could readily be obtained. Now this harmonizes with my last article on this subject. While I believe it not possible nor desi- rable, at present, to introduce the study into all of our schools as we would arithmetic, yet his plan would be an entering wedge for something better hereafter, and there are numerous cases where his plan might succeed with advantage. Let two boys of sixteen or seventeen years take some simple manual, and, though the teacher may not be thoroughly versed in agricultural science, they may still acquire much useful information. Al- most all great efforts are the result of small means at the outset. This will prove true in agriculture. Many of us in our youth had no better advantages, in other studies, than these boys would have in their wished-for study. I have an excellent rule for making a box. I am not much of a house-car- penter, but I find my rule always works well. If I cannot make a perfect joint, I make it as well as I can. So must we do in all our efforts. Do as well as we can. Any one who has had much experience in teach- ing, well knows that there are many schools where there may not be a single boy in a condition to study agriculture with advantage ; yet in these very schools, a winter will come round when they will be full of boys of the right age. It is by tak- ing advantage of these circumstances that we are to succeed, if we succeed at all, in introducing the subject into the common school. The knowledge acquired in this way may be imperfect, but a few important ideas will expand to almost any extent as they grow older. It is not to be expected that the present race of farmers can, as a class, be investigators of science to any great extent. Nor is it necessary to their success. They must take the results of the inves- tigations of scientific men, and put them in prac- tice. In other words, they must begin where the scientific man leaves off. This should be kept in view by all who have an interest in agricultural education. There is, at the present day, sufficient material of a practical nature, to occupy all the energies of the most capacious minded farmer. I make this special remark here, because I have often seen intelligent fanners, who seemed to be dissatisfied with themselves, that they are not an- alytical chemists, or something else beyond their reach. It is enough for me to be able to read an almanac without knowing how it was made, though it might be very pleasant to do so. It is enough for me to be able to read a book, though I may not have the ability to write one. I am very well satisfied if I can make a good garden, fat a hog, or cultivate an orchard, though I may not know a single element in chemistry. It is safe, however, and right, that every farmer and mechanic, as well as the professional man, should learn all he can, in everything pertaining to his calling, without being restrained by any definite rules on the subject. The case with boys is dif- ferent. They can, if profitably taught, learn many of the principles of things while young, and if they enjov the advantages for their study, they will readily put the principles in practice as they grow older. It is on this point of principles and practice that so much diversity of opinion seems to arise in discussing the whole question of agri- cultural education. It is unfortunate for our young men, that our agricultural colleges and professorships are all on ])aper. I should not know where to go, if I had a desire to do so, where I could find myself in a school, and in an atmosphere breathing of agricul- tural science. Public opinion needs to be raised to the same standard in establishing agricultural schools, that it has been in founding our charita- ble institutions. When I read of rich bequests given to these institutions in Massachusetts, I bless the donors, but I have often thought what a boon to humanity would a few hundred thousand dollars be to the founding of an agricultural school. There is no concealing the fact that intelligent farmers are yearning for greater facilities for ac- quiring scientific knowledge than they now enjoy ; and there is no doubt that in the progress of events, this opportunity will be enjoyed. With- out these schools, agriculture has made astonish- ing strides dui'ing the last twenty years. It is a cheerful view of what we may anticipate from the future, in elevating the condition of the farmer. Bethel, Me., Dec. 9, 1862. n. t. t. Remarks. — The views taken above of this im- portant subject are clear and just, and we com- mend them to the consideration of every reader. For the New England Farmer. INQUIRIES AND NOTES FROM MAINE. Mr. Editor : — Can you, through the Farmer, inform me where Mr. George B. Emerson's "i?e- port on the Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts'' can be obtained ; at what price ; how long ago it was published, and its size, style and value, or if not, his address ? What is the magnifying power of the Craig Microscope, advertised in the Farmer, and lately so felicitously noticed upon the fourth page of the weekly edition, accompanied with an illustration of the Microscope and a group of joyful young faces ? Mr. J. R. True, of Freeman, raised 185 bushels of the sti'ap-leaf turnips on one-eighth of an acre. He plowed the land twice in the spring, once just 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 57 befoi-e planting, and harrowed well, using new or green sheep manure. He thinks this the" best va- riety of turnips which he has tried, and slieep ma- nure the best manure a farmer has for turnips, because it makes the turnips grow well, and is ob- jectionable to the "bugs," or, at least, it has so proved with him. He estimated the cost about eight or nine cents per bushel, reckoning tlie la- bor by day wages, which was in part work by the month at a lower rate, actually. The piece was sod land, sowed to wheat the previous year, dressed lightly, and then for the turnips at the rate of 40 ox-cart loads per acre. Plant June 10 to \o, and let grow till there is danger of their freezing up in the ground. There has been a much larger importation of Spanish Merino bucks and sheep this year, than ever before in one year, and still the inquiry is for more. The supply was not equal to the demand. There has been a more general inquiry for the Spanish merino than for the coarse or middle wooled, and more so than for a few years past, yet the Southdowners, Cotswolders and Oxford- shirers have not been asleep by any means. Elm Tree Farm, Dec, 1862. 0. W. True. Remarks. — A few copies, only, of Emerson's Trees and Shrubs are to be found. Mr. John Raynolds, of Concord, Mass., has a few copies for sale at $3 each. We do not know the exact magnifying power of the Craig Microscope. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. HUNGARIAN GRASS. I have heard considerable about the Hungarian grass, and would like to ask a few questions about it. 1. Will it do well on new land? 2. Will other grasses catch well sown with it ? 3. What time should it be sown, how much seed to the acre, and what is the cost per bushel ? A Young Farmer. East Wallingford, Dec, 1862. Remarks. — 1. Hungarian grass does well on new land, if the land is thoroughly pulverized and a little fine compost manure is scattered over the field and harrowed in with the seed. 2. We have never known other grasses sown with Hungarian grass seed, but from the rank growth of the latter, should doubt whether it would be advisable to mix them. 3. Sow about the first of June, from twelve to sixteen quarts per acre. The usual price is about four dollars per bushel. TEACHING AGRICULTURE. Mr. Goldsbury holds on upon his notion, that agriculture cannot be taught in common schools, like "a dog to a root." He first says that our teachers are not qualified to teach it, and next that our children are not competent to learn it. Both of these reasons are valid and strong, if true. What evidence have we that they are true ? Nothing at all, except the "ipse dixit" of Mr. G schools as teachers only such as are qualified to teach, and put upon the studv only such children as are competent to learn. We do not expect all boys and girls in our schools to be instructed in the mysteries of farming, any more than that of blacksmithing ; but all we would say is, those there is nothing in the nature of common school in- struction that forbids the science of culture of the soil being taught there ; and we believe it would be more profitable than three-foorths of what is taught there. p, December 13, 1862. HARVESTING IN WINTER. As I was passing the celebrated Pickman farm, in Salem, to which was lately awarded the first premium of the Essex County Society, I?:J0, "for best farm management," I noticed the" laborers of the farm engaged in gathering a field of Indian corn, upon ox-sleds. I hope the learned Secreta- ry of the Board of Agriculture will inform the public, in his next volume, the peculiar advanta- ges of delaying the gathering in of this crop un- til after the fall of our winter snows. I have heard of such things on some of the prairies of the West, where corn is rot worth one-eighth part of what it is here, but never before in New England. • December 15, 1862. PURE BLOOD, BLACK SPANISH FOWLS. Can you inform me where to purchase pure blood, Black Spanish fowls — also the Gray Dor- kings ? I have bought what w^ere called nearly full blooded Spanish, and they were the meanest poultry I ever owned. An answer will greatly oblige A New Subscriber. December 9, 1862, Rejiarks. — We cannot tell. Will some one inform "A New Subscriber P" For the Neto England Farmer, EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING STOCK. Mr. Editor :— I think a Mr. Johnston, of New York State, has made a statement to the effect that it costs no more to keep a large steer, say three years old, than it does a smaller one of the same age. I have mentioned this to a number, and they seem to think that either I was mistaken as to the statement, or he as to the fact of the case. That this is so, and that I am not mistaken as to the statement of Mr. Jolinston, I am more confident, from reading Boussiugault, who says : "A very large ox or cow, relatively to its weiglit, requires less food than an animal of smaller di- mensions." Actual experiments in this case, as in all others, are the most satisfactory, though I had often heard the statement of John L. Lamjjrcy, of this town, "that it is better to feed swine with uncooked meal, than to cook it by cither boiling or scalding." I was much interested in the ex- periments of Albert Montagurc, of Sunderland, Mass., who says he fed two pigs, four weeks, with four bushels of cooked meal, and they fell oflf eleven pounds. Two others in the same time eat eight and one-fourth bushels uncooked meal, and ained eighty-two pounds. He fed the last two, The remedy for the first objection is, to put into i three weeks, on three and one-half bushels cooked 58 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. meal, and they lost four pounds. The first two then eat five and one-half bushels raw meal in three weeks, and gained sixty-one pounds. I have read also a report signed by Wm. R. Putnam, on the Michigan plow, who says : "All agree that the labor in cultivating a crop upon tough grass knd, is much more than it is when the common plow is used." There is considerable prejudice against selling hay, but if, as is claimed, by some having barn cel- lars, that the manure from them is worth four times more than without them ; and if, as I have seen stated, corn may be raised year after year on light soil, with the use of muck and lime, and with the thousands of acres of cold, swampy land, the soil of much of which might be carted off, and the land planted to cranberries with ten times the profit now realized, I think very strong prejudice, with all this before us, must be very great folly. Mr. Jeremiah Tilton, of this town, has a good young orchard on his best land, but thinks it would have been more profitable to have had his land in grass and other crops, minus the trees. J. W. Brown. Kensington, N. H., Bee. 15, 1862. CUTTING PODDEB FOB STOCK. We are decidedly in favor of it ; not from any precise and accurate experiments by weight and measure, but from a close and interested observa- tion of the spending of cut and uncut fodder, and from its effects upon the stook that consumed it, through a period of several years. The difference in feeding out a certain quantity of hay, cut and mixed with a given amount of grain, and feeding out the same amount of hay whole, with the same amount of grain, has been too great with us, to admit of a single doubt as to the profitableness of cutting the fodder. Especially is this the case with corn fodder. Fed whole, the cattle will se- lect the husks and leaves, and reject the stems, wherever the crop is a stout one — but when cut, mixed with a small quantity of grain, moistened, and allowed to stand twelve hours, cattle will eat every particle of it, excepting, perhaps, some of the rank and hard points of the stems. In most hay fed to cattle, some portion of it will be less attractive than the rest, and where cattle are well fed, they will leave the poorest, which is quite apt to get under them as litter, or to be at once thrown through the scuttle to the manure- heap, or at best, scattered over the yard to be pitched over again or trodden under foot. This is the case with much hay that is too valuable to go to such purposes. When hay is cut, this loss is entirely prevented, as it is rare to find anything left but bits of stick or the stems of rank weeds, if such were on the hay. That the cutting adds anything to the amount of nutriment contained in the fodder, we do not argue — nor does it to the potato we eat, and yet we find it vastly more convenient in a smaller form. It may be urged that cattle are provided with the means of cutting long fodder, and there- fore do not need it in a comminuted form — but the buffalo, in his native ranges eats no tall grasses and rank herbage if he can avoid it, but traverses over vast plains to graze upon the short, tender grass, thereby showing a decided preference for his food in smaller dimensions than is afforded in corn fodder, or in hay that affords two or three tons to the acre. We have cut the fodder for a stock of fifteen to twenty head of cattle, watching the effect with in- terest, and came to the conclusion that the process is an economical one — but tested by accurate weight and measurement, this apparent advantage might not be sustained, after all. A SNO-W-STOBM. 'Tis a fearful night in the winter time, As cold as it ever can be ; The roar of the storm is heard like the chime Of the waves on an angry sea. The moon is full, but her silver light The storm dashes out with his wings to-night j And over the sky from south to north. Not a star is seen as the winds come forth In the strength of a mighty glee. All day the snow came down — all day— As it never came before, And over the earth at night there lay Some two or three feet, or more. The fence was lost and the wall of stone ; The windows blocked and the well-curb gone ; The hay-stack grown to a mountain lift ; And the wood pile looked like a monster drift, As it lay at the farmer's door. As the night set in, came hall and snow. And the air grew sharp and chill, And the warning roar of a sullen blow, Was heard on the distant hill ; And the Norther I see ! on the mountain peak, In his breath how the old trees writhe and shriek ! He shouts along the plain, ho ! ho ! He drives from his nostrils the blinding snow And growls with a savage will ! For the New England Farmer. AGBICDTiTUBE IN COMMON SCHOOLS. I am glad to find our friend "W. B." correcting some of the absurd notions of Mr. G., of W. To say that boys of fifteen years are incapable of be- ing instructed in the science of cultivating the earth, argues a want of knowledge of that science. To be sure, it may not be expected that boys, or even men, will understand completely the opera- tions necessary on a farm, without some practical experience. Where is the difficulty in establish- ing manual labor schools ? Have we not ah-eady such in the State, including hundreds of pupils ? Is it not better thus to educate boys, than simply to instruct them in some of the arts ; such as the making of shoes, for instance. Let a boy come out from some of our public institutions, well in- structed in the labors of the field and the garden, as he might be, and ten chances to one, he will become a valuable citizen. H. November, 1862. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 59 For tite NeiD England Farmer. BENOVATIOM" OP OLD APPLE TREES. In your article aoout apples you speak of re- newing an old Hunt Russet apple tree by cutting away the dead wood, thinning the top a little, and raising a mound of good soil a foot high around the trunk, dressing with manure and ashes every other year for si.\ yeai'S. This statement of yours rectdled some facts that have passed under my own eye and experience, with this diflerence only, that no dressing whatever was used, simply filling up about the trees in all cases save one, which Avas a very old and large pear tree. I ne\ er could arrive at the true age of the tree, but sufficient to ■warrant the conclusion that it was from one hun- dred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five years old. It is over two feet in diameter, and probably was fifty feet high before filled about with earth, and cut ofif at the top. In the first place, all the roots were cut off on the south side within eight feet of the trunk. The following year the roots on the west were cut within twelve feet, and the year succeeding a cistern was dug close up to the south-west side of the trunk, thus most thorough- ly depriving it of near one half of its roots. I filled up around the tree, in grading, over four feet, with material excavated from the cellars dug around it ; not having a doubt but it would die from the severe usage meted out to it. As there were many dead limbs, I concluded to cut out some of the principal branches, and all dead wood. I was surprised the next year after the pruning, at seeing the vigor of the new wood, and in succeeding years finding quite a generous supply of fruit, of greatly superior quality to any it had produced for many years. I have not been advised of its present condition, but two years since it was as vigorous as at any time since the heroic treatment it had received, fourteen years previous. One of my neighbors was grading his lawn, and wished to raise the grade around a favorite apple tree. To avoid injury to the tree, he had a wall built the proper height and several feet from the tree. This wall remained a few years, and the tree seemed to be failing, and fears that it would soon die were ex- pressed to me. I suggested that the wall be ta- ken away and the space around the tree filled in with good loam to the grade of the surrounding ground. This was six years ago. From that time to the present, the tree has grown vigorous- ly and borne fruit liberally every year. Four years since, I graded a lot for a lawn on which were eight or ten apple trees. The trees were in and around a basin that we filled up to the depth of two feet. Four of the trees were filled around from one to two feet deep. These four trees have outstripped the others in making wood and fruit. A few inches of soil were taken from four of the trees, which effectually finished them up in two years. Here are facts that may be of practical use for some wishing to perpetuate old trees. No extra manure was used in any of the above specified cases. So much confidence have I in the results of the filling around old apple trees with good loam or muck, or both, that I propose trying it on a larg- er scale than heretofore in the spring. Having about two dozen old trees, I am loth to give up •without an effort to save them. I propose compost- ing muck and loam around them to the depth of a foot, with strong faith in the results being ad- vantageous to them. Such results as you report, Mr. Editor, together with my limited 'experience in the same direction, might, with propriety, lead to the inquiry whether, in many cases, it would not be more for the present interest of some to look after their old trees before resorting to young ones that require so many years to arrive at a bearing state. o. K. Rochester, Dec. 20, 1862. Remarks. — The above contains valuable facts and suggestions. The writer states that he has other articles for our columns. We are gratified to learn the fact, and trust they will come in good time. For the Ifetc England Fanner. RENOVATING THE SOIL— CROSS PLOWING. How to renovate soils without the aid of ferti- lizers, and in the most economical manner, should be the study of every progressive husbandman. Many of our fields are so situated that it is next to impossible to get manure to them, and then, again, say what we may about increasing the crop of manure, it must, at the best, be limited. What brought this to my mind at this time, was the editorial in the Farmer of the 18th, enti- tled "Cross Plowing," and more especially, in the second paragraph, where you refer to "vegetable and animal matters buried in the soil, as aliment for crops ;" and again, where you state that the quantity of decomposable matter turned under (in summer plowing,) was fully thirty tons per acre. The system of what may be termed summer fal- lowing, formerly very extensively practiced in this region, for the raising of winter grain, was found to prove highly beneficial to soil in two ways. It gave clean land, tending decidedly to eradicate foul weeds, and to keep up the fertility of the soil without manure, at a cheap rate. The course usually was, to plow under a crop of grass or clo- ver in June, and allow it to be undisturbed a month or more, and then to give one or more cross plowings previous to seed time, which was usually the first of September. By this course, a full crop of winter grain was ordinarily had, and the soil was in good tilth for re-seeding with the winter grain. Care should be had, however, to have the ground thoroughly pulverized by repeated plow- ings and harrowings, previous to the seeding. Another course adoi)ted by a neighbor of mine — successfully, I should judge — was to ])lo\v earlv in June, as in the other case, and about the 2()tK of the same month to sow a crop of buckwheat, with only one plowing, allowing the sward to lie undisturbed through the season. Buckwheat, as well known, has a very good effect upon heavy, stubborn soils, tending to render them more fria- ble. The succeeding spring, plow as early as the season will allow, twice — the last time crosswise, if practicable, and by thorough harrowing and till- ing, see that the whole is well decomposed, when it is sown to oats or some other spring crop, and re-seeded. The advantage from this last course, is, that a crop is taken from the soil both seasons that the 60 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. renovating process is in pi-ogress ; while in the first mentioned, no crop is obtained the first sea- son ; which is to be preferred, will depend upon lo- cation, and the situation and certain circumstan- ces, of which each must be his own judge. In pursuing this course, we should think it high- ly important that the first plowing should be in early summer ; or at that period when the most vegetable matter is on the surface to be turned under. This we know, cannot be obtained either in early spi'ing or in autumn — hence the reason why summer fallowing is justly considered so ben- eficial. But to be of use, the work must be thoroughly done, and the sward be allowed to become wholly decomposed, else, when the land is seeded, the surface will be found lumpy and uneven, and, in- deed, it may be said to be rather a difficult matter to effectually subdue a sward field in a single sea- son without a hoed crop, unless, as previously stated, by the most thorough and oft-repeated cul- tivation both by the use of the plow and harrow. By the way, we have within a few years had an implement introduced in our locality — Share's Harrow — which is of great assistance in pulveriz- ing sward land, acting something like a set of gang plows. Wm. J. Pettee. Salisbury, Conn., Dec. 20, 1862. THE CULTIVATION OP CLOVER. Now is the time to think over and talk over the plans for next spring's operations. What shall I sow, or plant ? what lands plow ? what lay down to grass ? how much ? and many other things that should be decided upon long before the swal- lows come. This plan agrees with that of mer- chants, manufacturers, builders, artists, and most of the occupations of life. Why should not the farmer be equally far-sighted and systematic ? We have often advocated the culture of clover to a much greater extent than is now common among our farmers, and we feel like pressing it with unwearied earnestness every time we have a conversation with intelligent farmers, or read the opinions of those who have given the subject at- tention. We find an account of the condition of farming in Germany in the 17th and beginning of the 18th century. "The only winter food the farmer had for his cattle, besides bad and sour meadow herb- age, consisted of white turnips, carrots, cabbage and potatoes ; and even of these, there was no great store, because the fields had ceased to pro- duce, when unmanured. This scanty food was, throughout the whole winter, whilst it lasted, made still scantier by steeping and boiling to eke it out, and when at last it came to an end, the cat- tle had to starve on barley, oat and pease straw. The coming of spring was anxiously awaited to get a few cuttings of the young wheat shoots, and the cattle were sent to the commons, whence the poor beasts returned at night nearly famished." This is the description, Liebig says, given of the then state of agriculture in Germany, by JoHN Christian Schubert, whom the Emperor, Jo- seph IL, created Knight of the Holy Roman Em- pire, bestowing upon him the style and title of Ritter Von Kleefeld, (Knight of Clover Field,) as a mark of imperial appreciation of the eminent services rendered by him in the introduction of the ctdtivation of clover into Germany. This new culture was hailed with acclamation all over the Empire. The peasants who grew clover re- ceived silver "clover dollars," to wear round the neck, and the good Schubert said — "If you will grow clover, and will strictly follow my directions, you will have ample cause for rejoicing, and for praising the Lord out of the fulness of your heart for His rich blessings." We believe the assertion of Schubert will hold good with New England farmers, and hope they will make the trial and For the New England Farmer,. THE WIND. Thou viewless monarch of the air, How wide estended is thy reign ; 'Tis felt far down in valleys fair, On mountain top, o'er fertile plain. Nor is thy realm alone on land — The waters, too, thy voice obey ; E'en oceans move at thy command, And own thy ever-changing sway. For how capricious is thy rule ! We feel it in the gentle breeze, With balmy breath, so soft and cool. That floats among the 13owers and trees i And then, in accents stem and strong. Thy voice we hear 'midst clouds on high. As thou dost whirl or rush along, And from thy presence fain would fly. But thou, 0 wind, who rulest o'er The earth's and ocean's vast extent, Must homage pay, and bow before The great Supreme, Omnipotent. A. 0. Tf, WHY BOILIKra MILK FOAMS When milk is boiled its volume is veiy much enlarged, while water merely bubbles without any increase in bulk; why is it that the two liquids under the same circumstances behave so differ- ently ? When Avater is gradually heated to the boiling point the portion nearest the fire first reaches the temperature of 212°, and the first particle that is heated to this degree is immediately converted into steam. As in its new form its volume is about 1,700 fold greater than in the liquid state, while its weight remains the same, it floats u])- ward through the water, being held in a nearly spherical shape by the nearly equal pressure of the water against all its sides. When it reaches the surface it is lighter than air, and consequently floats away in the atmosphere, and being invisible, it is lost to our sight. The rapid formation of these little globes of steam, and their rising through the water, produce that peculiar disturb- ance of the liquid which we call ebullition or boil- ing. When milk is boiled the same little globes of steam are formed, but their surface is coaled with 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 61 an exceedingly thin film of the casein which is one of the constituents of milk, and which has sufficient tenacity to prevent the bubbles from breaking when they reach the surface, or from be- ing separated from the liquid. They consequently accumulate as they successively rise to the sur- face, forming the white foam which so frequently flows over the edge of the vessel into the fire. — Scientific American. WOMAN'S GARDENING. We have often commended "TAe Horticultu- rist, by speaking of its contents, and for the gen- eral ability with which it is conducted. We now commend it by copying from its pages the follow- ing article on Woman'' s Qardening, with the remarks made upon it by one of the Editors. Why may not a Lady write for The Eorticultu- rist'i Ladies write for other magazines, and re- ceive applause either for the matter or manner, or because they are ladies. I claim no applause for either. Men think that the ladies like compli- ments, and so they do when deserved, but fulsome flattery is an insult to the sensible woman. I like to be commended for my housewifery, cleverness, and especially for my horticultural efi'orts, but shall be content if you will allow me to sound my own praise. Perhaps, too, I may succeed in im- parting to others of my sex a tithe of the pleasure it aff'Ords me to cultivate flowers, and fruit, and vegetables, inducing them to spend more time in the open air, and while inhaling nature's richest perfumes, breathe her health invigorating atmos- phere. My garden is not large, (about 100 feetjsquare,) but it yields abundantly with moderate care and labor. In the spring I hire a laborer for three or four days to dig and manure it ; the planting and after care I do myself, with a boy twelve years of age, who also helps me churn the butter from two cows, and does the chores. We raise all the veg- etables we need for a family of six persons, and the consumption is never stinted. We have all the approved varieties of fruit, and some to spare, and we have flowers in profusion during the whole season. I need not name the vegetables ; you can imagine that we omit no good ones ; and as for the flowers, we grow every thing that is pretty and attainable with a small income, and by ex- changes with complaisant and admiring neighbors ; but I can not forbear to name the fruits, among which are ten varieties of Dwarf Pears, six varie- ties of Dwarf Apples, seven Grape vines, Straw- ben-ies. Raspberries, Blackbenies, Gooseberries, Currants, &c. I ought to say something of the beauty of my garden. We keep it cletm ; weeds are tabooed ; it is a great offence for one to go to seed. We can not boast of its paths, "streaking the ground with sinuous trace ;" they arc, unfortunately, all straight. We claim no originality for laying it out, but we are proud of its productions : thei/ are perfect gems of beauty. | Now, Mr. Editor, don't figufe in your own | mind a dried-up lady, who cares no longer for her complexion. I am still young enough to have color in my cheeks, and this is how I keep it there. Nor do I neglect my domestic duties. I keep one servant, who does the cooking, &c., and I find time to sweep, dust, mend, darn, work the butter, read the current literature, and entertain a few friends, besides going to town once a week to do the shopping for the family. To the oft-repeated question, How do you manage to do all this ? I answer, bi/ s>/dem. One thing at a time, and do- ing that well. I must not forget to say that I have found time to get you three new subscribers, and inclose the names and the money, which I presume will inter- est you quite as much as the description of my garden. [Certainly ladies may write for the ITorticuliur- ist. Ladies do write for it, though they do not appear as such. We agree with all you say in re- gard to "fulsome flattery ;" it is doubly weak ; weak in the man who uses it, and weak in the woman who shows herself susceptible to its influ- ence. We never bestow praise excejjt when it is deserved, and then we do it heartily. It is a weakness of some women, however, (and men too,) to mistake mere j)layfulness for fulsome praise. You, of course, do not belong to that class. We can not, however, after reading the account of your garden operations, allow you the exclusive privilege of sounding your own praise. There, you see, you are trenching a little on our domain. We must help you a little. Some have done well, but you have excelled. We hope your example may influence scores of your sisters to go and do likewise. It would not only benefit them individ- ually, but the human family at large, and we should hear less talk about the degeneracy of the present race. Would that we might do some- thing, however little, to teach women a practical love of fruits and flowers. No, we do not imag- ine you to be a "dricd-up lady;" we know better. No woman who passes a reasonable portion of time in the garden ever can dry up. — Ed.] DEATH OP MR. JONAS WEBB. We regi'ct to have to announce the quite sudden death of Jonas Webb, of Babraham, England, un- der peculiarly melancholy circumstances. Mr. and Mrs. Wkbb were visiting her brother, Mr. Marshall, of Cambridge, where Mrs. W., who ap- pears to have been somewhat unwell for several weeks, became worse and died Nov. 5th, a day which had been fixed for her son's marriage. The shock was too much for Mr. Wkbb. He became very ill, and died on the 10th, the day on which the funeral of his wife took place. Mr. Wkbb had associated his name inseparably with those of the most prominent breeders in the history of EngUsh Agriculture. His success, ow- ing to a rare combination of good business facul- ties with matchless skill in theim])rovement of his stock, was productive of very large pecuniary re- turns to himself, as well as of great benefit to the Hock-masters of every civilized country. It will be remembered that the final disposition of the Babraham South-Downs was decided upon last year, resulting in a sale in 1861 of all, except the iambs, for the aggregate amount of £10,926, and in the sale of the" lambs in 1S62 for £j,72() — the total selling value of the flock having thus been £16,646, or more than $80,000. Mr. W. had been in receipt of a large revenue from the flock 62 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb, for many years, the annual aggregate of his "Let- tings" having been from $5,000 to $9,000. He had also a very valuable herd of Short-Horns, and a heavy capital employed upon the extensive farms of which he was the tenant. Death has come to him at a mature age, when the great labor of his life is completed, and in the enjoyment of a well won and world-wide reputation. As one of our foreign exchanges remarks : "Every one who had the pleasure of coming into contact with Mr. Jonas Webb, must have been struck with his frank and manly bearing; and those who have had transactions with him can bear testimony to his strict integrity and undeviating uprightness." — Country Gentleman. Mr. John A. Tatntek, another distinguished agriculturist, died on the 15th of November, at his residence in Hertford, Conn. Mr. Tainter has been greatly interested and engaged in the impor- tation of what are called Jersey cattle, and has done much to improve the breed of our neat stock. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. PIGS WITH A COUGH. For a year or more past, my young pigs have been troubled with a cough ; at times very severe, and one or two have died from the effects of it. I wish to make inquiries in regard to it. It seems to leave them mostly, after they are a few months old. X. Salisbury, Conn., 1862. Remarks. — It is no uncommon thing for pigs to have a cough. It is occasioned, we think, in most cases, by exposure, but probably not in the case of our correspondent, who understands pig- raising too well to expose them to any injury. No animal likes, and enjoys, a warm, dry bed, better than the pig. He may leave it, and wallow in the mire the next moment, but if he gets chilled, will retire to his nest, cover himself up, and get warm again. Such is his nature. But suppose he does not have the bed to go to, but lies down upon filthy straw, with the cold winds rushing up through the cracks in the floor, will he not be Ukely to catch cold and have a cough ? It may be hereditary, in the case of our inquirer. Let him look to that. We have seen a yearling colt so afflicted with ringbone, as to be utterly worthless, — suffering greatly. Warm, moist food, in small messes, mixed with a little flour of sul- phur, will generally remove a cough that is not hereditary or chronic. Where pigs have regular and liberal feed, and a dry, warm place to retire to when they please, they will seldom have a cough. culture of flax. Although there has been something said of late upon the culture of flax in your paper, I would like to inquire, first, whether a sufficient quantity of seed that will germinate, can be found, to sup- ply such farmers as are inclined to raise a little ? Then, again, when a crop is gathered, will paper- makers be likely to buy the straw, (if that is the name.) Or is it unfit in its raw state for the pa- per-mill ? I am a farmer, and know nothing of the manufacture of paper, but have been thinking^ about it some of late. If raw flax will make good paper, why will not the seed and straw sell, sO' that it will pay to raise it ? H. C. Dec, 1862. Remarks. — No doubt but a plenty of seed could be obtained. In its raw state, flax is unfit for the paper-mills — ^but means would soon be found out to prepare it for use. Indeed, a chemical process is already known for softening the woody portion of the stem, so that it is easily and rapidly separated by ma- chinery. We have seen it done in the most eff'ec- tual manner. Flax seed is a valuable article of commerce, and large quantities of it are imported into this coun- try annually in the form of seed, and that of oil cake. TIME TO sow flax SEED. I have noticed in the Farmer an article on the subject of flax. I think the 10th of May about the best time to sow flax seed, although freezing the ground a little, will not kill the seed after it is sown. Loamy land is good for flax, and grav- elly land, in a wet season, bears good flax. It is the most profitable crop that a fai*mer can raise, for it is very high at present. The lint is worth 18 cents per pound, and the seed $2 50 per bush- el. We get from three to five hundred pounds of lint per acre, and from seven to twelve bushels of seed. Flax should be sown on clean land, where it will be free from weeds. It should be pulled, and the seed whipped off' by hand, or a machine made on purpose. Such a machine consists of two rollers, both turning inward ; the heads of the flax pass between them ; the bolls of the flax are crushed, and the seed drops out. When flax is pulled, it should be kept in small bundles, that you can clasp with both hands, then, after whip- ping off' the sod, spread and roll it, and then bi-eak, swingle and tie it up ready for market. It will sell anywhere in Berkshire county. We call the barley crop next to flax for profit. Wheat is a very uncertain crop with us. A. Allen. Williamstown, Dec, 1862. PUTNAM'S BUTTER WORKER. Can you send me any explanation of the plan of Putnam's Butter Worker ? Indianapolis, lad., Dec, 1862. Remarks. — It is merely a plain frame work, containing a cylinder to receive the butter, and a follower fitting it, moved downward by a screw power. In the cylinder there are upright open- ings, perhaps half an inch wide, and six or eight inches long, through which the butter and butter- milk pass out as the power condenses it. When the inventor gets out a description, we shall be glad to give it in the Farmer. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 63 FINE HOGS. I killed two hogs last week, that weighed, after hanging over night, and without the rough fat, 503 pounds, and 618 pounds. They were hoth pigs of the same litter and fed together, and were nineteen months, eight days old, when killed. I prefer to feed shelled corn considerably when fat- ting, rather than cob meal, and can do it easier with Nourse's shelling machines than to go to mill and lose the toll. A. G. D. Dec, 1862. _ VEEMIN ON COLTS AND CALVES. What is the surest and safest remedy for lice on colts and calves ? c. N. A. Chelsea, VL, Dec, 1862. Remarks. — Clean, soft oil, of any kind, rubbed upon the skin, twice a week, is safe and often suc- cessful. Unguentum, in the hands of a careful person, who will not allow the animal to be ex- posed while using it, will destroy vermin. COTSWOLD EWES — BRAHMA POOTRA FOWLS. Where can there be found pure Cotswold ewes, and Brahma Pootra fowls ? A Subscriber. Remarks. — We do not know where the sheep can be obtained. Mr. John S. Ives, of Salem, Mass., has the Brahma Pootra fowls. For the Nete England Farmer. THE HORSE AN INTELLIGENT ANIMAL. Both ancient and modern writers agree that the horse is an intelligent animal. This intellectual development is far greater in some instances than in others, varying in degree, according to natural endowment, from a mere pos- session of instinct to the more wonderful faculties occasionally seen in a well-trained animal. I own to a natural fondness of the horse, and but few objects are more gratifying to my eyes. Not a high-boned, grisly-haired, coarse-limbed and high-gaited steed, such as is too often im- posed upon innocent buyers as a "perfect family" horse, but a compact, bright eyed, light stepping nag ; such an one as is pictured by the poet : that "O'er rocks, and woods, and crappy mountains flies. And neighing, on the aerial summit takes The exciting gale.'' Many anecdotes are told of the horse in which sufficient testimony is adduced to prove that the principle of affection, also, is latent in his nature ; that his fondness of and attachment to his master are often strong and marked. I think 1 have seen numerous evidences of it in my own experience ; and, to my mind, it is a mat- ter of no slight importance to possess the confi- dence of the horse that one is accustomed to ride or drive. Not only is he likely to be less timid, but he will approach objects that appear to him unusual and strange, and can be managed in cir- cumstances of sudden difficulty with far less prob- ability of accident, than a horse that has been harshly used, and forced to unwilling obedience by the lash. It is wonderful how docile he will become under the frequent caresses of childi-en. Females ac- customed to ride and manage favorite horses, have, in times of peculiar danger, been successful in guiding them after ail eflbrts to do so on the part of the master had failed. The case of a little girl, which fell under my ob- servation several years since, I can cite as an evi- dence of the power the female voice will have, if rightly used, in restraining a horse when under the influence of sudden fright. On the occasion referred to, this little girl was left in charge of a span of English, high bred horses, while the owner, — a generous Scotch i>hv- sician, long since gone to his account,— could make a professional call at the house of a sick neighbor. The horses were harnessed to a light phaeton, and, though young and spirited, were (juite gentle. The child was given the ruins, and duly cautioned, but the doctor had hardly left the carriage when the fluttering of a noisy parrot, at a window, caused the horses to start, and in an instant after they were off' at a dashing speed. For a long dis- tance they rushed over the road as if on wings, avoiding, fortunately, everything in their way. The child kept firmly to her seat, and by skilful management of the reins and words uttered in a kindly and soothing voice, she at length succeeded in bringing the frightened animals to a halt. Doubtless, all would have terminated well, had it not been for the interference of some kind-hearted peo])le, who, seeing the situation of things, shouted to the child to leap from the carriage, which obey- ing, she had the mortification to witness both horses and carriage flying over fences and ditches to their complete destruction. More than forty years ago there lived in ihe town near my father's farm, an eccentric genius, widely known as Uncle Tim. At the time to which I refer, he had u])on his farm one of those tougli, close-knit animals, which, though without known pedigree, bore unmistakaljle marks of the French Canadian breed. Weighing scarcely nine hundred pounds, and at times faring none too well, she was always fat, and, as Uncle Tim would good-naturedly remark, would "thrive on hob nails without any mixin' o' shorts." The mare was the chief dependence on the farm, and was kept almost constantly in harness. Tugging before oxen all the forenoon, and with little time to cool ofl", she was, not unfrequently, in the afternoon, tackled to the old square top chaise and driven to the "middle of the town," or to some adjoining village and back again, whe'» she was sent to the common ])asture to pick up the little left after an overstock during the day. Tiie mare had a peculiar aversion to strangers, and w;is unsafe in harness unless driven l)y one of the fam- ily. None other could approach very nearly to her in the pasture, and any trap or device to catch her would signally fail. It was not in the j)ower of man to hold her by the bit, for her mouth was as tough as a rhinoceros' hide, and unpliable as a smith's anvil ; yet Aunt Susan would manage lier with the utmost ease, simply by talking to her. My recollections of the old mare are various, and some of the most ])leasing incidents of my boy- hood were due to the frolics I have had while rid- ing with Uncle Tim, borne along by this faithful creature. How often have I seen, packed into an old-fash- ioned pung, hitched to the old mare, the children 64 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. of the neighborhood, bound on an excursion of pleasure. She seemed to understand it all, and as their merry voices rang a merry peal, she would start up at a brisk trot, up hill and down, and returning home, would of her own accord stop at each door, deliver freight, and so on till the last batch was disposed of. w. H. F. West Boxbury, Dec, 1862. ILLUSTRATED ANNUAL BEGISTER FOR 1863. This is the ninth number of this excellent work. It is as full of valuable facts and suggestions as a good nut is of meat. It has one hundred and forty engravings, the times, tides, the changes of the moon, how long the sun shines on us, and a thousand other things that people desire and ought to know. It is edited by Mr. J. J. Thomas, and published by Luthek, Tucker and Son, Albany, N. Y., who are also proprietors and pub- lishers of the Country Gentleman and Cultivator. Read the subjoined articles, and say whether we have misjudged in our opinion of the merits of this work. Application of Manures. — The following conclusions were adopted at the discussion on manures, at the State Fair at Watertowu : 1. Manure which consists chiefly of the drop- pings of animals should be applied as soon as possible to the soil. 2. Manure consisting largely of straw, corn stalks, or other fibrous matter, should be first rotted to become fine. 3. Manure should be applied at or near the surface of the soil, or should be slightly buried. 4. For hoed crops, and especially for corn crops, it may be buried deeper than for straw crops. What Young People should Know. — The best inheritance that parents can leave their chil- dren, is the ability to help themselves. This is better than a hundred thousand dollars apiece. In any trouble or difliculty, they will have two ex- cellent servants ready, in the shape of their two hands. Those who can do nothing, and have to be waited on, are helpless, and easily disheartened at the misfortunes of life. Tliose who are active and handy, meet troubles with a cheerful face, and soon surmount them. Let young people there- fore, learn to do as many different useful things as possible. Every Farmer's Boy should know how, sooner or later, 1. To dress himself, black his own shoes, cut his brother's hair, wind a watch, sew on a button, make a bed, and keep all his clothes in perfect oi'- der, and neatly in place. 2. To harness a horse, grease a wagon, and drive a team. 3. To carve, and wait on table. 4. To milk the cows, shear the sheep, and dress a veal or mutton. 5. To reckon money and keep accounts accu- rately, and according to good book-kee])ing rules. 6. To write a neat, appropriate, briefly ex- pressed business letter, in a good hand, and fold and superscribe it properly ; and write contracts. 7. To plow, sow grain and grass seed, drive a mowing machine, swing a scythe, build a neat stack and pitch hay. 8. To put up a package, build a fire, whitewash a wall, mend broken tools, and regulate a clock. There are many other things which would render boys more useful to themselves and others — these are merely a specimen. But the young man who can do all these things well, and who is ready at all times to assist others, and be useful to his mother and sisters, will command far more respect and esteem than if he knew merely how to drive fast horses, smoke cigars, play cards, and talk nonsense to foolish young ladies at parties. For the New Eneland Farmer. NEWSPAPER CONTROVERSY. "For when disputes are wearied out, 'Tis interest still resolves the doubt." Every man is morally bound to contend for what he regards as true ; but when an opponent never stoops to admit a plain truth from his antagonist, or condescends to think it possible that he is in the wrong, it is useless to spend words or ink up- on him. In entering a controversy, men should come with a spirit of condescension and accom- modation ; a willingness to acknowledge error when it is clearly shown — for truth is the object sought — and not with an air and tone of infallibil- ity, which repels all candid and just consideration of the subject. One may Avell suspect his oppo- nent's good faith, when he industriously shifts to meet every minor or weak point, and remains si- lent upon the great ones. It is hardly worth the time to remind him more than once, that your material points are not met. To reiterate it again and again, as if to provoke him to an admission of their soundness, would be folly. The best way is simply to utter them, and let them take their course, as if you believed in their power of making their way against all but ignorant, wilful and prejudiced minds. "For truth is precious and divine, Too rich a pearl for carnal swine." Very rarely do persons enter into public, (or even private) discussions, with true inquiring minds. One party, or both, usually have some interest in their positions, and wish to make a proselyte of the other party. And when obvious interest is absent, simple pride of opinion sets up an adamantine barrier to concession. Controver- sy thus conducted, is useless, and even worse. Most of the religious disputes are entered upon under these circumstances ; and whoever heard of one party being convinced by the other ? The result generally is a final belief, if not an expres- sion, tliat their opponents belong to the species of braying animals ! Who supposes that two great pscudo saints, like Brigham Young and the Pope of Rome, would enter into a polemical discussion about their peculiar religious tenets with anj' profit ? Both would be interested or biassed, and both would be unyielding. The world does not need learned men so much as honest and fearless men — men who are ready to be convinced by a lair process of reasoning, and equally ready to ac- knowledge that conviction. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 65 In agriculture, the feeling and tone complained of, is not more uncommon than in other affairs. Silence is, not unfrequently, better than a struggle tor the last word. If an opponent shows no dis- position to accept of truth out of himself, let him be left to the influence of the moral elements with his own drapery wrapped about him. D. W. L. West Medford, Dec, 1862. Remabks. — Read and ponder. For the Neic England Farmer, THE WAR AND THE FARMER. Mr. Brown : — After ten years' association of my name with yours, in the editorial depaitment of the Farmer, the Fates seem to determine that our pleasant fellowship shall nominally end. I say nominally, because I intend to claim the priv- ilege of a correspondent, and to hold some sort of place, still, in the hearts of the editors and read- ers of our paper. It would, perhaps, have been more consonant with the fact, had my name ap- peared always as a correspondent, but there has been no harm in the name of associate editor, for nobody has supposed that any one but yourself had much to do with editing the agricultural de- partment. Pursuits far other than those of agriculture, for the present, claim my attention, but my thoughts and reading, and sometimes my pen, will be, •where my heart is, directed toward the culture of the earth, and its improvement in beauty and fer- tility. I rejoice that the Farmer is not to go down in the contest which convulses the land, and which is destroying the lives of so many of the young and brave, deranging the peaceful plans of life, and with the rest, sweeping away so many useful publications. It is said to be darkest just before the dawn, and although the night has been long and dreary, I cannot help feeling that the dawn- ing will begin with this new year. What right has any American citizen to ask of Him who rules in heaven and earth, for victory to our arms, in the name of Liberty, while our government stands responsible for slavery ? When we ourselves are in the right, and the decree has gone forth to "let the people go," we shall deserve success, and that is much toward its attainment. Truly it cannot be within the designs of the Almighty, that slavery shall triumph over freedom, and that the only hope of the world, as an illustration of self-gov- ernment, shall perish ! But, beside the duty which the farmer owes to his country in standing by tlie flag, and the Presi- dent, who is its representative, he has his peculiar province of labor. Thus far the boast of the South that the free labor system cannot maintain itself against that of slave labor, has been an idle assertion. There is plausibility in the theory which comes daily to us from Richmond, that the North cannot spare the laborers from the larm for the battle-field, but must either end the war, or starve at home, while the slave labor of the South can furnish constant supplies to the soldiers, who have never been laborers or producers. The fict, however, that the North has produced abundant crops for herself and her armies, and for the im- mense demand of the Old World, while prices ui the South have reached almost to the famine point, is, thus far, a significant criticism upon this pro- slavery idea. But this theory will bear a criticism beyond the mere facts which have been suggest- ed. Had tlie whole energy of the North been heretofore directed to the immediate i)roduction of the greatest amount of food and clothing, and a miUion of her laborers been suddenly called to the war, we shoidd have seen a failure of products corresponding with this diversion of labor. But the North has never been so employed. Only a small part of her labor has been upon the soil. Of those who have enlisted as soldiers, a great proportion, how large cannot be stated, did not depend upon their labor on the soil, for support. Of those who were engaged in agriculture, per- haps one-half their labor was usually employed in permanent improvement of their farms. A new country diff'ers in this respect from an old one. Our young men on their new farms, or, in fact, on any farms, with few exceptions, were not work- ing, like Irishmen at home on a half-acre potato patch, to get enough to keep oft" starvation, and pay their rent. They were permanently investing their labor, clearing off" the forest, building walls, draining swamps, erecting buildings, making for themselves homes. They were building school- houses and churches, and roads and bridges ; they were adorning their homes with trees and lawns and shrubbery ; they were planting vineyards and orchards ; and all this, not for themselves alone, but for their children, and for all jjosterity. War first cuts off luxuries, arrests public improvements, interrupts schemes for permanent advantage, stops the construction of railroads and canals and pub- lic buildings, takes the farmer's time from clearing and draining and building, and by-and-l)y, if the pressure is long and severe enough, finds him un- able to produce his usual supj)ly of food and cloth- ing. No doubt the war has already done us much harm, in retarding such progress as has been al- luded to, but we had, and have yet, thank heaven, a surplus of strength and energy in Northern hearts and Northern muscles, and a surplus of re- sources in our soil, which far more than compen- sate for "all the wealth that sinews bought and sold, have ever earned." The farmer can easily understand this matter. His son, who was his best helper, has left the farm, to serve his country. Perhajis, now, the new barn cannot be built, pcrha])s the meadow cannot be drained ; certaiidy the now orchard can- not be planted, nor the grape vines, nor the pear trees, till the dear boy couies hack ; liut the old fields can be tilled, and with mowing-machine and horse-rake, the hay can be housed, and the cattle and crops can all be cared for ; and it will be long vears I)efore this will cease to be so. Besides, there are at the North many willing hands to labor now, which heretofore have done little work, many delicate female iiands to knit and sew for the soldiers, many willing hearts to watoh by the sick and dyint; in hospitals, to take their places in shops, aye, in the field, too. if necessary, while the loved ones are away. Woman's labor has not been much needed with us in lime of peace, and many young maidens have looked about, aliTiost in vain, for em])loyment. In the war of the revolution the wives and daughters of our fathers often labored in the field, to keep the farm going on, while husband and father were in 66 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. the war. There is no lack of just such women now, with willing, glad hearts to labor, if need be, for the sake of the freedom of all, wherever duty calls. But, in New England, yet, so far as any want of comfort or luxury goes, we have not felt the war. Who of us has not had enough, and to spare, of all that we have heretofore enjoyed ? England and France have felt the effects of the rebellion in their starving towns, where labor, in its best estate, is raised but one step above pau- perism, but in New England, where republican in- stitutions, and the real equality of condition which properly results from such institutions, are best il- lustrated, want and its attendant sufferings and crimes, are, apparently, as far off as in time of profoundest peace. No ! this contest for law, for the constitution, for freedom, will not stop, because the farmers of the North cannot maintain their armies in the field. The resources of the South have seemed to us wouderful, but our own seem still more won- derful, and in modern warfare, the result depends much, if not mainly, upon the powers of endur- ance, or in other words, the resources of the com- batants. The labor system of the North is substantially sound and undisturbed ; the large debts which we have assumed are due to ourselves, and not to foreign powers ; our taxes in this mighty war are less than those of European peoples in time of peace. At last, the slave labor system of the South, the corner-stone of its rebellious confeder- acy, has been touched, and the whole structure trembles. The Belshazzar of the South has al- ready seen in the Proclamation of Emancipation the hand-writing upon the wall, and it has required no prophet to interpret its meaning to be, "God has numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found want- ing. Thy kingdom is divided and given to oth- ers." With the confident hope that we shall emerge, in good time, out of this fearful contest, purified as by fire, and established more firmly than ever upon the principles of our fathers, who made our constitution for freedom, I remain as ever, your friend, wishing for yourself, the publishers and readers of the Farmer, a Happy New Year. Henry F, French. Borrowing and Lending. — This is poor busi- ness to both parties. The proverb, "The borrower is servant to the lender," is now often reversed. Owners of tools are excessively annoyed by hunt- ing up what some one has borrowed — often to more than their value. Never lend a tool, unless the borrower will pi'omise to bring it back "to- day." And if he does not, go for it at the mo- ment it is due. This will show him that you ex- pect promptness, which will do him a substantial kindness by teaching him good manners, and you will have the tool ready at hand the moment it is wanted. For Chapped Hands. — Wash the hands, and, without using the towel, apply a small quantity of honey and rub in well. Use once a day, and it will make the hands very soft, and cure as well as prevent chapped hands. Apply it in the same manner to a cow's teats. For the New England Farmer. BETBOSPECTIVE NOTES. Muck, and Land inclined to Muck. — As the opinions expressed in regard to these two subjects, on page 541 of the volume of this journal for 1862, seem likely to incline some of the younger and less experienced readers to undervalue these valuable articles, it may be of service to such to have laid before them a few of the many facts and statements which might be collected from various sources, tending to counteract the misleading in- fluence of the opinions referred to. To prevent the necessity of hunting up these opinions which seem objectionable, they are here quoted, being as follows : — "My experience with muck is this — as an ab- sorbent, and to protect the droppings of stock from the sun's rays by mixture with it, it is first- rate ; but for a farmer to cart more than that quantity is useless. Great value is placed on land inclined to muck, by many, and they clear it up at great expense, but I have yet to learn of its su- periority over other good soils. It looks to me that a soil washed from neighboring hills, and sub- mitted to a leach of time unrecorded, is not equal to the virgin soil, which has in a measure been protected from the storms of time by the forest, and enriched by the productions of that forest." Now, although the writer of the above may have intended to do some good service by the opinions he has expressed, and admitting that there are a few cases in which there has been an exaggerated estimate of muck, which may have provoked the foregoing statements in the M'ay of correcting such over-estimates, still the influence of the sentences quoted will be, to lead some to under-value muck and land inclining to muck. This, we think, would be unfortunate, and there- fore it has seemed that an effort to counteract this tendency ought to be made. Before, however, proceeding to make an effort to prevent any such under-valuing of muck, and of land inclining to muck, we will admit that the writer has mentioned two of the most important of the uses of muck, namely, its usefulness as an absorbent of urine and of the liquids of barnyards, and as a protection of the droppings of stock from the waste caused by exposure to the sun's rays, the winds, &c. These are two of the more impor- tant uses of muck, but by no means all of them. We will admit, also, that lands inclining to muck are not always, especially during the first two or three years of their being under cultivation, supe- rior to other good soils or to virgin soils. We will allow, also, that some have been extravagant in their statements in regard to the utility of ap- plications of muck, and also in their expectations of great crops from mucky soils or reclaimed swamps. For want of good sense and a sufficient amount of information, individuals here and there have been so injudicious as to put muck fresh from the swamps, without any seasoning or prep- aration whatever, upon lands which would have been benefited by a similar application of the same muck after it had been seasoned by exposure to a summer's droughts and a winter's frosts, or by being mixed with lime or ashes to correct the acid condition so common to fresh muck. Some, too, after hearing or reading t>>at reclaimed swamps make the richest portion of a farm, have been so 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 67 unwise as put them into a grain crop or some other improper crop at the very first, or expect great crops before the land had had the benefit of exposure to the beneficial influences of the atmos- phere, and have, of course, been disappointed, and thus made ready to decry all reclaimed swamps and lands that are mucky or inclining to muck. But notwithstanding these admissions, and ex- planations, there are abundant reasons for valuing both much more highly than "S. P. M." — the writer referred to — seems willing to do. He seems to have been led to this undervaluing of muck, in part at least, by what seems to us a strange idea, namely, that muck and mucky soils cannot be of much value because they have been "submitted to a leach of time unrecorded." For- tunately for those who might be staggered a little by this suggestion, there are several paragraphs of an article on "Spreading Manure in Autumn," only a few pages farther along, which are sufficient to neutralize the eff"ect of this notion that muck and mucky lands must have had everything of value leached out of them. The whole of the ar- ticle just referred to is valuable and instructive ; but for "S. P. M.," and all who may be influ- enced by his suggestion of the effects of a long leaching, the following passage, on page 544, may be a word in season : — "Thousands of our swamps have been saturated ■with water most of the time ever since the flood ; yet drain them, throw up the muck, sow oats or grass seed, and such is the fertility of these water- soaked soils, that they will yield as heavy crops as can be grown by the use of farm-yard manure. The fertilizing ingredients of a rich alluvial soil, of swamp muck, iir of stable or other animal ma- nure, are all identical — with this difference, these fertilizing ingredients in the manures can be mostly leached out, but not so in the soii." We regret to find ourselves so near the limits of the space we usually occupy with these occa- sional "Notes," before we have accomplished all that we intended. We hoped to find room to set forth several of the uses of muck and mucky soils. This, however, has been so recently, so well, and so fully done by the editor of this journal, that all interested may be better satisfied if they should turn to Vol. 12 for 1860, and find his articles on muck, by help of the index. More Anon. SEED SOWERS. Modern ingenuity has given birth to a great va- riety of implements designed to economize the time of the farmer, and diminish the labor without abridging the profits of his hands. Every imple- ment designed for such a purpose, and calculated' in its construction, to accomplish ends so desirable, should meet with favor. The inventor should not only be remunerated, but contemplated in the light of a benefactor, and as deserving of honorable praise. We have had many instruments spoken of for acceptance, most of which are admirably adapted to economize both expense and toil. We have heard of three men toiling all day to plant, imperfectly, half an acre of beets; and we have Been the same extent of surface planted with al- most mathematical accuracy and precision by a boy and a machine in less than half a day. With another "labor saving machine" of somewhat dif. ferent construction, we have heard of a field of seven acres planted with corn by a man and horse, —a small boy driving the latter, — in less than a day's time; and a patch of turnips sowed, covered, and the surface uniformly and evenly rolled, by one man with a seed sower in the same time which it would have taken six to perform the work by hand, in the usual way. We have ourselves planted an acre of corn per hour, with a boy, horse and corn-planter, and did the work more accu- rately than it is usually done by hand. Indeed, on a field of nearly four acres planted with com, and where there were few obstructions of turfs or stones, not a half dozen missing hills were found when the first hoeing took place. The only objection to this mode of planting is, that the hills cannot be kept in regular squares, so that they can be worked each way with the horse and cultivator. This i& a serious objection, because where this can be done, and the land is not weedy, very little work is left to be performed with the hand hoe. A good sower for small seeds would be suffi- cient for a half dozen farms where the buildings are not remote from each other. For the Sew England Farmer. IMPOKTANCE OF KEEPING ACCOUNTS. Can the importance of keeping accounts be too often or too strongly urged ? I think not. It is related of Dr. Franklin, that, wlienever he took any subject under serious contemplation, he was in the habit of choosing two sheets of paper, upon one writing the arguments for, and upon the oth. er, the arguments afjainst the subject. Following his example, I will first see what can be said in favor of keeping accounts. 1 . We should be enabled to determine with ex- actness, the profit or loss upon any crop. 2. It would settle what crop is most profitable. 3. We could tell what crop is best adapted to particular soils, for although corn can he made to grow upon soils not naturally suited to that grain, yet, if the extra expense exceed the profit, it is well to kno\/ it. 4. We know what our produce cost, and know- ing what it cost, we know what we can aff'ord to sell for. 5. It would save much ill feeling among neigh- bors, and prevent many law suits, as there would be a record of many accounts now trusted to mem- ory. 6. It would, if adopted throughout the land, be a source of much useful information that we stand sadly in need of. 7. It would settle many disputed points in agri- culture. 8. It would he a source of much satisfaction at the end of the year, and in years to come, to be able to recur to the various transactions of the 68 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. year, and tell in what you gained, and in what you lost. Now, what do we find upon the other sheet? Nothing ; we have searched for something to say in its favor, but the sheet is blank, and we fear must remain so. If, as j'ou peruse these lines, you feel convinced that benefits would arise from the system, will you not determine to commence this year a new era, which shall ever remain upon the pages of history a bright example of progress in the nineteenth century ? Do not be deterred by the seeming difficulties of the task ; they will vanish as you approach them. J. Franklin Spaulding. Nashua, N. H., 1863. Remarks. — Good advice, brother farmers — do not fail to follow it. SALT AND COLD VtTATER FOR SWINE. It is not a common ])ractice, we think, to give salt to swine occasionally, while every farmer would consider it a prime duty to offer it to his neat stock, horses and sheep, as often as once a week. To be sure, the swine get a little salt in the slops from the kitchen, but only a little, com- pared with the amount given to other animals. In proportion to their weight, why do they not need as much salt as the other stock on the farm ? We find an article going the rounds of the pa- pers upon the use of salt for fattening swine. The writer states that "he selected two pairs of barrow hogs weighing 200 pounds each. One pair received, with their daily allowance of food, two ounces of salt ; the other pair, similarly fed, none. In the course of a week, it was easily seen that the salted pair had a much stronger appetite than the others, and after a fortnight, it was increased to two ounces apiece. After four months, the weight of the salted hogs was 350 pounds each, while that of the unsalted, five weeks later, reached only 300 pounds. The experiment was repeated with almost precisely the same results." If such should prove to be the general result, most farmers have not gained all the advantages they might have done from the food fed out. From the example cited, there is no indication that the salt excited a morbid appetite, and px'o- duced unnatural flesh and fat. Of course, a sound judgment must be exercised in the use of salt, as well of grain or any other food. Another neglect of swine — and sometimes it must be a cruel one — is that of not giving them a plentiful stipply of pure cold water. Why it is supposed that the hog should not need water as well as the cow and sheep — neither of whom work — is more than we can tell. They do require it. When water is not given them, although fed with Bwill, they will drink heartily of the water collect- ed in the yard or barn-cellar, after visiting their trough several times, and finding it empty and dry. Nothing is more grateful to them in a hot day than a bucket of cool water, dranli from a clean, sweet trough. We trust that farmers will give attention to the matter, and ascertain for themselves whether our suggestions are valuable or not. ROAD MAKING. To travel over a good road is a comfort which all appreciate who have ever been jolted over or dragged through a bad one ; and it is a matter of surprise that so little attention is paid to this mat- ter in country towns. If a road is once built in good condition and according to the principles of Civil Engineering, it will afterward need little re- pairing unless it is subject to heavy washes from rain or carried away by spring freshets. Our common roads are seldom constructed with care. The path is staked of the desired width — which is generally too narrow by one-half — and the soil turned up with the plow ; sometimes gravel is hauled on and the scraper used to make it level. There is seldom any provision made for drainage, and the washing of the hills is attempted to be prevented by huge "bars," as they are call- ed, which are in most cases the most villainous and destructive things to carriages and comfort that the perverse ingenuity of a "highway survey- or" ever invented. On farms, little attention is paid to the roads which cross the fields and woods, while the bridg- es across the runs are dangerous to cart wheels and the limbs of cattle and horses. In many places these evils are serious enough to demand immediate attention, and yet such is the force of habit that men will drive their rick- erty hay-carts over the same old bridge or stony road until the final excursion breaks the camel's back and the cart goes to smash. We should set out with the principle that it is cheapest in the long run to build a good road, and for several reasons : — It costs but little more at first ; it needs little repair ; it enables one to move heavier loads with less strength ; it saves wear of carts, carriages, horses, cattle, patience, and many a broken limb ; it is a credit to a town and a recommendation to any farm if the roads and paths through it are neat and in good order. Having thus expressed our opinion, which we suppose few will be found to dispute, we proceed to give a few hints on road-making, which may be of service to our readers. The best material for road surface is broken stone two inches in diameter, not much more or less, covered with a layer of gravel. It should be made only shghtly convex, the drainage being provided for at the sides by proper ditches, where there is a clay soil, the ditch should be dug in the middle of the road and fiUe withcoarsed up stones and then the sod and other materials placed on top of it. On hill-sides, unless the descent is very steep, bars will only aggravate the difficulty they were intended to cure. Let the road be pro- perly graded — if a long hill not all in one sweep from summit to foot — but in two and three grades, with levels of a rod or two between ; this will ren- der the ascent easy and break the flow of water. The ditch should be well defined and clean each side, and the surface very slightly convex. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 69 For a side walk or garden path, a foot or so in depth of stones covered with broken stone or gravel will give always a firm dry path at all sea- sons of the year. Team roads across farms, where much used, should be run out with the plow, the stones stumps and roots removed, and lasting bridges thrown across the runs or brooks. It will be well to throw down bundles of faggots in swampy places, over which cart on gravel or soil. Such a road once made will last for a generation, and prevent much trouble. — Journal ^Agriculture. THE INNER CALM. Calm me, my God, and keep me calm ; While these hot breezes blow, Be like the night-dew's cooling balm Upon earth's fevered brow. Calm me, my God, and keep me calm ; Soft resting on Thy breast. Soothe me with holy hymn and psalm, And bid my spirit rest. Calm me, my God, and keep me calm j Let thine outstretching ^^ng Be like the shade of Elim's palm, Beside her desert spring. Yes, keep me calm, though loud and rude The sounds my ear that greet. Calm in the closet's solitude. Calm in the bustling street. Calm in the hour of buoyant health, Calm in the hour of pain. Calm in my poverty or wealth. Calm in my loss or gain. Calm in the sufferance of wrong. Like Him who bore my shame ; Calm mid the threatening, taunting throng Who hate Thy Holy Xame. Calm when the great world's newa with power My listening spirit stir ! Let not the tidings of the hour E'er find too fond an ear. Calm as the ray of sun or star, Which storms assail in vain. Moving unruffled through earth's war, Th' eternal calm to gain. Judge French, — On another page may be found an article from our esteemed friend, and, for many years, our Associate Editor of the Farm- er. In the midst of his practice as a lawyer, and of the valuable aid he was supplying to our col- umns, he was selected by the Executive of the State to discharge the duties of an important of- fice, in the line of his profession, and promptly ac- cepted its trusts. Under this new demand upon his time and energies, he declines to bear the yoke and title of Editor with us longer. But we rejoice that he will still bear us in remembrance, and continue to illumine our pages with his sensi- ble, and always reliable and practical thoughts, whenever the duties of his profession will permit. May there be many New Years of pleasant life and usefidness left to him and his. MAPLE SUOAB. We have annually given some account of the modes of making maple sugar for several years past, and have incurred considerable expense for engravings to illustrate the fixtures and manner of evaporating the sap. An article in the N. II. Journal of Agriculture, from the pen of Geo. W. Hammond, of Gilsum, in that State, recalls the subject, and prompts us to ask attention to it at this early day, so that our friends may bear it in mind and make preparations for their work in sea- son. Nothing that we eat is more acceptable to most persons than good sugar. It is not merely pleas- ant to the taste, but we have the gratification of knowing that, while it pleases the taste, it affords actual nourishment to the body. The present high price of sugar should stimulate the farmer to produce all he can the coming spring, as it will be required by our people, and will afford him a handsome profit. Mr. Hammond says : — When people once become familiar with the use of maple sugar for cooking and table use, for tea, coffee, &c., they prefer it to the best refined white cane sugars. We have been in the practice of making annu- ally, in our sugar establishment, from 25 to 3jOO pounds of maple sugar ; and when we could ob- tain from two to four cents per pound more than the cost of the best loaf and granulated sugars, we sometimes sold ourselves so short as to be obliged to buy for home use a barrel or two of the best granulated sugar. But much depends upon the manner in which maple sugar is made. As we have sold our sugar usually at the highest price — once as high as \o cents per pound by the thousand pounds — per- haps the readers of the Journal might be interest- ed in an account of our process of manufacture. 1st. Our buckets and holders are all thoroughly scalded and rinsed previous to setting. Our evaporating pans, of which we use eight, are scraped, washed and made perfectly clean before use. We then endeavor to gather and evaporate the sap as speedily as ])ossible after it has left the trees, to a consistency a little thinner than mo- lasses. It is then strained and set aside until we are ready to sugar it off. When we commence this process, to syrup enough to make 40 pounds of sugar, we add one pint of milk and one or two eggs well beaten and mixed together. Stir well together and place it over the fire, and when the scum rises skim it off into a vessel for future use. After the skimming is through, remove the .syrup from the fire and strain it through ihuinel, to re- move all little curds, which if suffered to remain, would not only injure the quality, but by settling to the bottom would endanger burning. Now we wash our evaporating pan, return the s\Tup, and place it over a brisk fire, and evaporate as quickly as possible to the proper consistence. If it is to be caked, it must be harder than for tub sugar, or to stir off dry. Keep saleratus and all other drugs out of your sugar, if you desire a pure ma- ple taste, and a wholesome article. •70 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. WTien the season is through, gather your uten- sils, and scald and scrub every one perfectly clean, if you wish to continue making good sugar in the future. In this order, the evaporating pans are excepted, which should be put away in a dry place with the glazed coating on them, which is the best protection from rust. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. WHY DO CATTLE EAT THEIR CKIBS ? I hereby renew my subscription for the Month- ^rrmer, for another year, and in doing so, I to make one or two inquiries, lat makes my cattle inclined to gnaw their and the corners of the barn, and really eat ■ 5 of dry boards, when they can find them ? have done so for several seasons, in the lat- irt of the winter, and in doing so, they lose appetite for their fodder, and become thin by ring time. Last year I wintered fifteen head ttle, of all ages, from last spring calves, to iws and oxen, and they all incline to do so, ut an exception. One of my oxen would eat piece of board as greedily as he would an f corn. One calf gnawed quite through the 31 of his crib, which was two inches thick, ome of them are beginning to do so this year. next inquiry is, what will cure them of this ler ? If you, or some of your knowing ones, .ell me, I will be very much obliged. We pretend to know much up this way, but some yes, the most of us, know enough to get a , and by farming, too, and I think if all take the N, E. Farmer, we should have the 5 of knowing much more than we do now. Jesse R. Fitts. idia Village, N. H., Dec, 1862. MAUKS. — We know of no certain cause, or y, of the evil our correspondent speaks of, h other complaints have often been made. IS often gnaw their stalls, but we have never 1 neat cattle to do so. The cause, we think, lie in one of two things ; the want of a suf- '■ amount of nourishing food, or in the ir- •rity in which it is given. It may not, how- ever, be either of these. It may be caused by the quality of the water they drink, or by some lurk- ing seeds of disease inherited from their ancestors. When cattle gnaw bones, we give them bone dust as a remedy. If they gnaw your boards, per- haps they would relish sawdust, and let the boards alone. If cattle are fed principally on meadow hay, it may prove unsatisfactory, and lead them to gnaw any thing they can reach, until it becomes a habit which it is difficult to eradicate. Our correspondent should look at every possi- ble cause, and when he has found the true one, it may not be difficult for him to prescribe a remedy. DISEASED SHEEP. I am keeping 290 sheep, and many of them are afflicted with soreness about the mouth, appearing upon the outer surface of the lips. It is a disease which, for a life-long experience in sheep-keeping, I have never before witnessed. Can you, or some of your correspondents, account for it, and pre- scribe a proper remedy ? Geo. French. Sutton, N. H., 1863. PUMPKINS AND APPLES FOR SWINE. In your paper of November 1, I find an article, in regard to the value of apples and pumpkins for cattle, in which the writer approves of their use, and by actual experiment proves their value. The middle of April last, I bought a couple of spring pigs, of the Mackay breed, at four dollars each, brought to my door. They proved to be large eaters, and the milk of my three cows soon seemed insufficient for them, and for a short time I seemed undecided what to do, as meal was too expensive to feed to pigs, with the prospect of only six cents per pound after they were slaugh- tered. But the last of August and during Sep- tember, I made my boys gather all the apples, both sour and sweet, and I gave them from a peck to half a bushel per day. The last of September, my small apples and windfalls growing scarce, I commenced feeding them with the same quantity of pumpkins ; neither apples or pumpkins were cooked, but fed raw, and I will say that I never saw pigs gain so fast in my life. I slaughtered one the first of November, which weighed 260 pounds. The second I slaughtered the 29th day of November, and the weight was 302 pounds. The article in your paper of November 1, before alluded to, said that, "some say that the seeds of pumpkins must be taken out, or they are an inju- ry to cattle." I would say, in i-elation to this, that I noticed in feeding my pumpkins to my pigs that they would eat the seeds first, when not very hun- gry, and I believe that they are the best judges ot what they like best, and what is good for them. Don't you ? J. N. Smith. South Walpole, Dec. 15, 1862. Remarks.— Certainly. We have fed large quantities of both apples and pumpkins to swine, upon which they gained rapidly. We never suc- ceeded, however, in making swine eat uncooked pumpkins to any extent. Boiled and mixed with boiled potatoes and a little meal, they make nu- tritious and excellent feed. A COMPLIMENT, AND A TURNIP CROP. As I have been a constant reader of your paper for the last five years, and have received a great deal of benefit, especially from its cattle and other market reports, which are worth more, weekly, to any farmer than the subscription price of your pa- per, I have noted down a turnip crop that I raised last season, and what I am going to do with it. If you think it woi-thy of circulation, please print it, and I will try again. HOW I RAISED A GOOD CROP OF TURNIPS. I procured three-fourths of a pound of English Globe turnip seed, and the second time of hoeing, sowed it broadcast before using the cultivator, then hoed out my corn, and awaited the result. When it came harvesting time, I found a crop that looked about right. Harvested them, and had five hundred and sixty bushels of as hand- some turnips as I ever saw. I think it a very cheap way of raising root crops. The cost of 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. il raising, I think, could not exceed four cents per bushel. With my turnips in my cellar, and winter upon us, I will give my way of disposing of them. I give my cows and working oxen one peck each, once a day, and find that my cows increase their milk, and oxen gain in flesh. The cows and oxen show thrift so well that I am going to try their fattening qualities by feeding them to some two- year old steers, and will give my experience at some future time. A. J. ll. Holliston, Dec, 1862. SUPERPHOSPHATE OF LIME. I wish to ask if you know how to make super- phosphate of lime ? If so, Mill you give a receipt in your paper soon ? T. Glover. Remarks. — Superphosphate of lime is bones dissolved by the use of sulphuric acid. When made in large quantities, all the fatty matter is first driven out of the bones by heat, and is a thick, pungent fluid. When cooled, the bones are ground, the fatty matter returned to the ground bones in liquid form as it comes from them, and then a certain quantity of sulphuric acid is added. This induces a strong heat and ebullition, or boil- ing, and when this subsides, the mass is spread, and partially dried, and is then ready for market. The preparations necessary for this work are quite expensive, and would only be justified by doing a large business. Bones may be dissolved by packing them in pure wood ashes in casks — but it requires several months to do it. CULTURE OF JHLLET. In answer to "A Young Farmer," of East Wal- lingford, I will say that I once sowed four quarts of millet on one-quarter of an acre of land, togeth- er with four quarts of a mixture of herds grass, clover and red top. I raised one ton of good fod- der, as good as herds grass hay, and will add, that the grass seed was as good a catch, sowed with the millet, as that sowed with barley alongside. Hungarian grass and millet, are identical. I •would like to purchase a report that has an article on draining swamps. S. K. Given. Kittery, Me. Re>l\RKS. — Hungarian grass is a different plant from that of the common millet. It is sometimes called Hungarian millet, but there is little resem- blance between them. The seed heads are entire- ly diff'erent. Purchase French's Farm Drainage, and you can soon become master of the subject. SO- A Cheerful Spirit. — When the celebrated Haydn was asked how all his sacred music was so cheerful, the great composer replied : "I cannot make it otherwise. I write according to the thoughts I feel; when I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap as it were from my pen ; and since God has given me a cheerful heart, it will be pardoned me that I serve him with a cheerful spirit." VERMONT STATE AQRICUIiTlTRAIi CIETY. The annual meeting of the Vermont State Ag- ricultural Society, was held at Bellows Falls, on Friday, the 2d day of January-, 1863. The Treasurer's Report showed a balance in the Treasury of about four thousand dollars. The following gentlemen were elected officer* for the ensuing year : President— Vj-Dwis Hammond, of Middlelmrv. T'jce Presidents— 3 . \V. Coliuun, ol' Spriripficld : Henry Kkyes, of Newbury- ; D. K. Potteii, of St. AIl)ans, and H. G. Root, of Bennington. Correspondintj and Recording Secretary— TtAyi^i. Nebdham, of Hartford. Treasurer— 3. W. Colburn, of Sprinjrtield. Z)/rectors— Frederick Holbrook ; K. IJ. Chase ; Henut S. Morse ; Danikl Hill ; John Gregory ; Elijah Cleaveland ; Nathan Ccsuinu; George Campbell and Henry Heywood. Mr. Campbell, of Westminster, introduced the following resolution, which was unanimously adopted : Resolved, That the interests of the wool growers of this State would be greatly ad. -anced by the publica- tion of a paper devoted exclusively to "the suliject of wool ; that, as the production of stock, sheep and wool have become pre-emitiently a leading feature in the agricultural industry of the State, some such medi- um of communication among our own people and with the people of our sister States is imperiously demand- ed ; that we pledge the inlluence of our State organiza- tion to the sustaining of such a paper, whether estab- lished in our own State or elsewhere ; and that we re- quest the Secretary of this Society, to correspond with the view of establishing a paper at as early a day as practicable. Daniel Needham, Esq., of Hartford, Secretary of the Society, read his annual report, which was ordered to be printed. We make the following extract from it : "The passage of a dog law, must he regarded as a substantial advance in the legislation of our State. The great damage to our sheep by the canine race can hardly be estimated. Few sheep raisers but that have suffered some, and many have suffered a great deal. There is reason to believe that the dog law came as the legitimate result of our action at the Wool Growers' Con- vention. It is estimated that there are seventeen thousand dogs in our State, at the present time. That this number will be greatly lessened by the tax imposed by the new law, there can he no doubt. It would seem to be a wise disposition of this money, that the revenue accruing under the act be allowed to remain in the town treasury of each town respectively, as a fund to meet dam- age done by dogs whose owners are not responsi- ble, or where neither owner or dog can be identi- fied." We are glad that our Vermont friends have taken the initiative to protect themselves from the scourge by dogs. They have suffered long and patiently, — the day of deliverance is near. Fine Porkers.— Mr. William R. Stearns, of Foxboro', has dressed two Columbia and Ches- ter county pigs, which weighed at nine months old, one 300 lbs. and the other 303 lbs. ,72 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Feb. CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. Calendar for February Page 41 Culture of Flrix — A look at some Fine Stock 42 New Year DiKies 43 Physical Education 44 Winter Manasement of Sheep 45 A Discussion on Grapes and Pears 4g Sheep Mania — H. W. Beecher on Farming 47 CotswoUl Sheep 49 Health — Vinofiar — Y7ood Fires and Cooking 50 Habits of the Beaver 50 Old Winter is Coming — Agriculture in Common Schools 51 Draining — Fall Slanuiing— Books — The Care of the Feet 52 Treatment of Colls 53 Agricultural Ivnowledge — Farmers' Clubs 54 Wintering Bees 55 Little Things — Inquiries and Notes from Maine 56 Extracts and Ileplies — Experiments in Feeding Stock 57 Cutting Fodder for Stock — A Snow-Storm 58 Agriculture in Common Schools 58 Renovation of old Apple Trees 59 Renovating the Soil — Cross Plowing , .59 Tlie Cultivation of Clover— The Wind 60 Why Boiling Milk Foams 60 Woman's Gardening — Death of Mr. Jonas Webb 61 Extracts and Replies G3 The Horse an Intelligent Animal 64 Illustrated Annual Register for 1863 — Newspaper Controversy .61 The War and the Farmer 65 Borrowing and Lending — Retrospective Notes 66 Seed Sowers — Importance of Keeping Accounts 67 Salt and Cold Water for Swine— Road Making 68 The Inner Calm — .Uulge French — Maple Sugar 69 Extracts and Replies 70 Vermont State Agricultural Society 71 Cattle Market for January 72 For the Neto England Farmer, KECEIPTS FOR CAKE. Squash Breakfast Cake. — Two cups Indian meal, one cup tiour, one cup boiled squash, thor- oughly mashed, two cups sweet milk, one egg, one teaspoonful sugar, one teaspoonful cream of tartar and one half-teaspoonful soda. Instead of cream of tartar a tablespoonful of cider may be used. Bake in a quick oven. HoLLls Cake. — One half-cup of butter, two cups sugar, one cup milk, three and one half cups flour, three eggs, one teaspoonful cream of tartar and one half-teaspoonful soda. Season with lem- on. This will make two loaves. The soda should be dissolved in half the milk and the remainder of the milk should be beaten with the yolks of the eggs. Beat the whites to a stiff froth and stir in just before setting into the oven. A. Remarks. — The editor returns his thanks for the receipts — and will not fail to accept the invi- tation to test them practically, should he ever find himself in A.'s neighborhood. It is only the calm waters that reflect heaven in their breast. CATTLE MARKETS FOR JANUARY. The following is a summary of the reports for the four weeks ending January 15, 1863: NUMBER AT MARKET, Sheep and Shotes and Lire Cattle. Lambs. Pigs. Fat Hogs. December 25.. ..1017 2635 250 2.500 January 1 1100 2328 100 1800 " 8 1229 3066 250 1500 " 16.... 1590 2399 225 1500 Total.... 5, 536 10,428 825 7,3C0 The following table exhibits the number of cattle and sheep from the several States, for the last four weeks, and for the cor- responding four weeks last year : THIS TEAR. LAST TEAR. Cattle. Sheep. Cattle. Sheep. Maine 879 2744 575 666 New Hampshire 667 965 985 1095 Vermont 2046 2017 18.59 3.346 Massachusetts 295 1601 135 2552 Northern New York 224 1692 > , „, 0^7 Canada 81 522 | ^^'^ '^' Western States 1344 1887 1720 4765 Total 5,536 10,428 5469 12,771 PRICES. Dec. 25. Jan. 1. Jan. 8. Jan. 17. Beef, 1st, 2d and 3d qualities.. 4|g6| 4i(S6i 4|@6J 4|@7 " afew e.xtra 7 @7J 7 @7J 1 @1\ 11^1% Sheep and lambs, ^ lb 43'g5J 4356 6 (B6J SJ/Se^ Swine, stores, wholesale 4|g5J 4§S5J 4Jg5^ 5 @6 " " retail 4Jg6| 4136^ 5 (g6 6|@6| Remarks. — The advance in prices of beef at the last market was owing in part to the much better quality of the cattle. For the four weeks ending December 18th, there were 1378 cattle and 2328 sheep more than there were last year for the four cor- responding weeks. But for the past four weeks tlie number of cattle is 67, and of sheep 2343 less than were reported last year for the same time, and as will be seen, much less than the aver- age for the year. These facts should be remembered in re- viewing the above table of prices. STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR 1862. According to our weekly reports the following numbers of live stock have been sold at these markets during the yearl862, viz: For the Average year. per week. Cattleofall kinds 98,218 1889 Sheep and lambs 229,198 4408 Veal calves 10,000 192 Fat hogs 55,000 1058 Shotes and pigs 46,000 835 Sources of Shpplt. — The following table gives the number of cattle and sheep arri^■ing at market, from several States, for each quarter of the past year: Quarter cattle. ending Me. N. H. Ft. Mass. tior.N. Y. Ca. West. Mar. 31, 1411 1650 4195 1191 508 — 7107 June 30, 333 843 2429 1186 224 79 11039 Sept. 30, 2461 2480 8677 297 821 682 11725 Dec. 31, 8296 4985 15905 986 2050 1124 5534 Total, 12,501 9,958 31,206 3,360 3,603 1,885 35,405 SHEEP. Mar. 31, 738 3360 9807 7112 461 — 13423 June 30, 660 5483 21689 4193 707 49 2016 Sept. 30, 15141 7963 38170 2910 6282 10S24 2414 Dec, 31, 14630 6140 25829 663 4396 22064 2074 Total, 31,169 22,946 95,495 14,878 11,846 32,937 19,927 DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. VOL. XV. BOSTON, MARCH, 1863. NO. 3. NOURSE, EATON' k TOLMAX, Proprietors. Office.... 102 'Washinotgn Street. SraON BROWN, Epitob. THOUGHTS SUGGESTED BY THE RE- TURN OP MARCH. Sweet are the omens of approaching spring. — Clare. 0\V ADMIRABLY adapted toour^\-ants is the change of the j^j, seasons. We quick- '^ ly tire of the same thing. In the win- ter we exclaim, "O, !iow glad we shall be when the spring ■omes ! When the warm south wind blows, the brooks babble and the blue- birds and robins sing again about the house. We long to see the crocus and snowdrops peeping out from among the dry leaves in the garden, and hear the lark's shrill note as he mounts to the skies." So it is with us all, in greater or less degree. By nature, or by habit, these feelings possess us, and so the changing sea- sons gratify, in some degree, this tendency to cliange and excitement, and constantly inspire us with fresh hope and courage. Let us quote a little from William Howitt : thing in the freshness of the soil — in the mossy bank — the balmy air — the voices of birds — the early and delicious flowers, that we have seen and felt only in childhood and spring." How delightfully Mr. Howitt writes. What a charming sympathy with huinanity, and even in- animate nature. How his mind is filled with sweet memories of the seasons, stored up in child- hood and finding expression in later years, to cheer and instruct us amid the trials of life. Thanks, thanks, to him, and his amiable and genial wife, for the kindly influences they have spread broad- cast throughout the civilized world ! What most of us object to in March, are its bois- terous winds, whistling and tearing about, some- time driving snow before them, and then rain, or hail, or sleet, — banging every unlatched door, or rattling reproachfully the loose boards that the farmer neglected to make fast last fall. True, to- wards the last of the month, these winds some- times blow mingled with odors of violet and daf- fodil, that have ventured to "Come before the bluebird dares, and take The winds of March with beauty.'" But "even the winds of March," notwithstand- ing all we may say against them, "are far from being virtiieless ; for ihey come careering over our fields, and roads, and pathways, and while they dry up the damps that the thaws had let "March," says he, "is a rude and boisterous ! j^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ previous frosts had prevented sink- month, possessing many of the characteristics of , .^^ .^^^ ^^^^ ^^^_^^^ .p.^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^.^.^^ j.^^.^^^, ^^^ winter, yet awakening sensations perhaps more delicious than the two following spring months ; for it gives us the first announcement and taste of spring. What can equal the delight_ of our hearts at the very first glimpse of spring — the first sprinkling of buds and green herbs. It is like a new life infused into our bosoms. A spirit words of which, tell talcs of the forthcoming flowers." * * • "The sap is alive in the seeming- ly sleeping trunks that everywhere surround us, and is beginning to mount slowly to its destination ; and the embryo blooms are almost visibly strug- of tenderness, a burst of freshness and luxury of' gling towards light and life, beneath their rough, feeling possesses us : and let fifty springs have ' unpromising outer coat— unpromising to the idle, broken upon us, //as joy, unlike many joys of time, ^j^g unthinking and the inobservant; but to the is not an atom impaiVed. Are we not young ? ; ^^^^ ^^^ ^--^^ ^^^^ beautiful, in virtue rof"L°tS'.h„u^:: iro'.Tuhe'Vaptr™ , o< the „righ.„e». .nd the beauty that they cover, scenes of all our hapi)ier years ? There is some- ' but not conceal." 74 NEW ENGLAXD FARMER. March March, rough as it is, could no more be spared from the circle of months, than fervent July or glorious October. It has its duties to discharge to the plants and the soil, as well as any of its sister months, and so we must bear its winds, and wets, and colds gratefully, and during its bluster- ing days perfect our plans for the active labors of seedtime and harvest. During this month, the stock in the barn re- quires particular care. There often occur quite •warm days, with south winds, and the cattle be- come a little dainty after the sharp cold days which they have just passed through. At such times they greatly relish a few fodderings of the best hay, a "nubbin" of corn, or half a bushel each of roots, sliced for them. They enjoy the sun highly, and if turned out to bask in it a few hours, daily, they remain more quiet and better contented when in their stalls. If they are kept free from dirt of every kind — and especially their own droppings — they will thrive the better for it, and give a more profitable return in milk or flesh, than if covered with a plaster that has been in- creasing in bulk through the winter. All ani- mals, we believe, are naturally neat. The pig wallows in the mire, to be sure, but he makes himself all the cleaner for it, when he comes to "the rubbing post," and removes it again, carrying with it other objectionable matter nearer the skin. Preparation for all the spring work should now be made. Plowing and planting time is too busy and important a period in which to pause to mend or make. See, then, that the plows, harrows, *eed sowers, caits, chains, forks and shovels are all in order. Also, that the yokes and harnesses are strong and fit for active service. The oats, barley, wheat, peas, beans, and all other seeds needed for sowing, ought to be on hand, free from all foul seed, and ready for use. ^F" Our friend, Farmer C, must remember that he forgot to sovf clover seed on the land which he laid down the preceding summer, so that his sheep foiled to get their fodderings of sweet clo- ver hay through the winter. Sow on the last snow in the last days of March or first days in April, and you can see just where the seed falls. The freezing and thawing of the ground make the surface uneven, so that the seeds fall into the holes and get sufficiently covered. If muck was thrown out last summer or fall, haul home a plentiful summer's supply, — for the warm season, after all, is a most favorable time to make large quantities of manure — and good muck should be the basis of the manure heap. Get out all the manure you can by sled, attend ■to the wood pile, get seed potatoes ready, and do many other things that will facilitate the spring work, and help you to preserve an even and amia- ble temper ! PliEURO-PNEUMONIA. We copy the following from the Boston Jaumal : This insidious and fatal disease continues to prevail among our herds. From the report of Messrs. James Ritchie, E. F. Thayer and Henry L. Sabin, commissioners on contagious diseases of cattle, it appears that they have found seventy- three cattle having the pleuro-pneumonia in a very decided form the past year, and caused them to be killed. They were found in the towns ot Dorchester, Milton, Quincy and Grafton, and at East Boston. Thirty-three were also killed on suspicion of being contaminated, but proved per- fectly healthy ; while forty-four that were perfect- ly healthy, were slaughtered because stock owners protested against their being removed from Long Island, in Boston Harbor, where they were placed in consequence of having been exposed to the dis- ease. It was believed they would endanger the whole cattle of the State. The Commissioners have made investigations in New York and New Jersey, where they found the disease prevailing, and as the result of their experience in this and the above-named States, they conclude : 1. That this disease has never been generated in this country from local causes. 2. That it is altogether an imported disease. 3. Tliat in general it is communicated by contact of breath. 4. That it cannot be eradicated by treatment. 5. That those cattle which apparently recover, are the most dangerous, as they are liable at any time to come down with the disease a second time. 6. That by care it may be prevented from ex- tending from one herd to another. Exemption from the disease in this State can only be purchased by constant vigilance. The chief danger of its approach from abroad is by way of Albany. The Commissioners recommend as a matter of common prudence that some commission be kept in existence ready to meet the malady at its first approach. The appropriation for the expense of the com- mission was .$5000. There have been already au- dited and paid bills to the amount of about 84,800. The estimated amount of bills not yet audited, is $900, making in all an expenditure of 85,700, and leaving a deficiency of $700. This amount is in additipn to that paid by the several towns where the disease has existed. Army Horses. — A Washington dispatch states that the subject of army horses has assumed a de- gree of importance not much understood as yet by the public. The daily loss to government through the mismanagement of animals is enormous. There is no doubt that the employment of veterinary surgeons and skillful farriers would have prevent- ed much of the great waste from this cause. The horse hospital receives over one hundred horses daily. The daily average of those that die, or are shot, is twenty-six, and thirty per day are sold for almost nothing, so that the average daily loss is three thousand dollars or more, in the Quarter- master's department at Washington alone. The losses in the field service are also enormous. I^" The cultivation of the sugar beet, as well as sorghum, is attracting attention at the West, and the prospect is, that large amounts of beet sugar will soon be made. 1S63. NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 75 Fur the Xeic EnyUtml Farmer, CULTIVATION OF NUTS. As the f^rowing of fruits, such as the apple, pear, grape and others has been engaged in S(j ex- tensively that there is danger of overstocking tlie market, it may be jjroper to consider the expedi- ency of planting the \arious kinds of nut trees as a source of profit. We have every variety of cli- mate and .soil, and some kinds of nuts, such as the filbert, and others wliich are now imported in large quaiitities, might as well be raised here. The hazelnut of this region, of which there are two species, is a true filbert, and no doubt some of the foreign kinds would succeed equally as well here. The Madeira nut, or English walnut, might be grown in the States south of New England. It will sometimes perfect its fruit in Massachusetts. My father formerly had a tree, which he raised from planting a nut, that produced half a bushel in one sea-son, equid to any imported. It yielded nuts many years, but the winters M-ere generally too severe for it, frequently killing the best of the branches. There are several kinds of native nuts which are extensively consumed, and the sale of them con- stitutes quite a branch of trade. The Pecan nut of the Southwestern States is a species of the wal- nut, of which vast quantities are sold annually, and it is an excellent variety. The shelibark grows in abundance in many places in this section, espe- cially on the intervals of Nashua river. A hun- dred bushels are sometimes gathered on a single farm in a season, which sell readily at a fair price. There is a large variety of this nut found in Avest- ern Pennsylvania, and other i)laccs. Many trees of the common hickory produce walnuts nearly equal to the shelibark, but in general they are much inferior in quality. The butternut grows spontaneously. In some places in the Northern States the nuts are consumed to considerable ex- tent, and are much superior to the fruit of the black walnut, which, also, is common in New York State, as well as others. The chestnut is the pre- vailing growth in many sections. In AVorcester county it is abundant, forming nearly the entire growth. In some wood lots, instances are known where thirty or forty bushels of nuts Mere gath- ered on a farm in a year. Chestnuts vary much in size. Some varieties are nearly as large as the Spanish, others are quite small. The Spanish and other European kinds, some of which produce fruit nearly as large as the horse chestnut, might be grown here in many sections. The imported walnuts and filberts alone, which are consumed in the United States, amount to an enormous sum, and if they can be produced here equally as well, it would appear advisable to make the effort. Leominster, Jan., 1863. O. V. Hill. air. They have drank neither tea nor coffee, nor lived on any other than plain and simple food. Their dress has never been so tight as to hinder free respiration. They have exercised every day in the open air, assisting me in tending my fruit trees, and in such other occupations as are appro- priate for women." How many there are who would be benefited by such a course, as well among our farmers as in the city. The open air is a great panacea for many diseases. It is cheap and ever present. Don't refuse to take it. — A'. II. Journal uf Ai/ricullure. WHAT OUGHT TO BE. A gentleman travelling in New Hampshire, within sight of the Monadnock, was struck with the healthy appearance of a family where he called. On asking his farmer host what might be the cause, he receive)y farm stock, of nearly equal value, and wonders that he never tried to save the liquid before — lias lost more than ten dollars' worth every year for forty years ! Y, Z, and some others, just begm to thiiik it might have been better for tliem if they had taken and read a good agricultural periodical for several years past. One man said he didn t know as farmers' clubs did much good, as far as 76 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March he had observed ; and on being asked how many meetings he had attended, it M'as ascertained that he had been present but a few minutes one evening! Those who have attended the most reguhirly, have been the most interested, and received and done the most good. AVe have now fifty members, and an apparently increasing interest. Some attend for the agricultural benefit, some for the lyceum benefit, some for social benefit, some from curi- osity, and some for pastime. Order is easily pre- served, and none but pleasant words have ever been uttered in any of our meetings ; and few meetings of any description have ever been held in our village, equally pleasant and useful ; and I wonder that similar institutions are not in progress all over New England. I was rather surprised, a short time ago, to hear it said by a man who ought to know, as he is teaching agricultural schools, that just such clubs as ours were in oper- ation a thousand years ago ! and fifteen years ago in NeAV Hampshire, and twenty years in Massa- chusetts, but not one of them in operation now — all died out. Now I understood this man to say that he knows more about agriculture than any other man in the United States ! and of course, he must know if the clubs are all dead In New Hamp- shire and Massachusetts ; if they are dead, I am dreadful sorry, but, if alive and kicking, I am more sorry that they don't report themselves. Our Club includes but a small portion of this town, but I believe the benefits already accruing to the town therefrom, after only fifteen or twenty meetings, could not be purchased with one or two hundrecl dollars, while the cash expense of sustaining it has not been three dollars. I think there is scarce- ly a town or village in New England that might not very profitably sustain a so-called farmers' club, though it might not be wholly composed of farmers. In our Club, we can reckon ministers, doctors, farmers, mechanics, merchants, inventors, teachers, judges and justices. Our constitution and by-laws exclude all subjects for discussion except those directly pertaining to agriculture, so that there is little chance for quarrelling. It seems to me that the war almost enthely rests on the shoulders of farmers, and there never was a time in the history of our nation, when every agricultural advantage is so emphatically de- manded as the present, and Avhat farmer is* there who does not know, or think he knows, a more advantageous way of "getting in" this, and "get- ting out" that crop than his neighbor over the Avay ; of rearing this animal and fattening that ; what man has not somewhere seen a better plow, harroAv or cultivator than his left hand neighbor uses ; and a better seed-drill, fan-mill or root-cutter, than his right hand neighbor uses ; and hoM- little etfort it would cost him to tell all his neighbors about it, especially if they should ha])pen to be all to- gether ; and how much good it might do them to be told. There are those, styled men, who, if by any means they acquire knowledge of some agri- cultural improvement, seem to be actually afraid that their neighbors will hear of it, and so know as much as they do, and be able to have the same advantage, but such are not men, but niggardly pigmies. If any farmer would " show himself a man," let him show a cheerful willingness to communicate a knowledge of the advantages he has in anv man- ner acquired, to any and all liis neighbors ; let him take one or more standard agricultural periodicals, and use his influence to get his neighbors to do the same, and if they won't, at the first onset, lend them his pa])er and call their attention particu- larly to this piece and that article, let him invite his neighbor farmers to come to his house and consult in regard to the best way to keep the dogs away from his sheep, or the midge away from his wheat ; or to see the operation of his new machine for cleaning and cutting vegetables, and get their opinion as to whether it is any benefit to cut them up before feeding, or to clean them before cutting up, &c., and thus before he knows it, he has got a farmers' club all going. And if once going, it will keep at it for one while, like a steam-engine, as long as the engineers furnish wood and Avater ; and they are plenty all along the route. Some men query in regard to the benefits of farmer's clubs, but only because of their ignorance, for they are all benefits, when properly managed, and no injury. The coming together, for any lauda- ble object, and remaining together two or three hours, is of itself a benefit, as it tends to assimi- lation, sociability, and friendship among neigh- bors. It is natural for man and all other animals to consociate together, and, if elevating, intellec- tual, moral and beneficial objects do not occupy their attention when together, and stimulate them to assemble, degrading, sensual, immoral and injurious objects will. Such clubs, then, are beneficial in that they tend to keep men from getting together for worse purposes. Famers' clubs are beneficial in that they stimu- late the members to study, research and medita- tion. The object of a good common school, or collegiate education, is hardly begun to be real- ized when the student graduates, or the boy or girl leaves the school-room for the last time. The studies they have attended to are of little impor- tance in and of themselves, only as they have con- duced to mental development and discipline ; and he whose mental and moi-a! development and discipline is the most perfect, is the most useful and happy man, and the best prepared to meet, control and enjoy the stern realities of life. Every facility for the at'tainm.ent of this should be sought and embraced. The saying, " Knowledge is pow- er," was never more true than to-day, and " Know thyself" is a dead letter, without study, energy and exjjerience. These clubs cannot be got up and sustained, without some effort, neither can any useful enter- prise, but the effort required is not great, in pro- portion to the value of the object, and is of itself an actual benefit. I would give you another sample of our meet- ings, if you desired, for the encouragement of any other clubs ; there is also at every meetmg much information communicated, for us here in the country, but might not be so to those better in- formed. There is especial reason for sustaining farmers' clubs the present winter, in the fact that it is absolutely necessary, for the safety of our- selves and our country, that all our farms shall produce more the next season, in proportion to the help employed, than ever before, and I have no doubt that every club sustained the present season will tend very greatly to that end. Let no farmer offer as an excuse for not attending clubs, that he is not a " public speaker " — go right straight at it, attend the meetings regularly from 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. principle, and you will be a speaker before you realize it — I know by experience and observation ; try it, and if you don't find it so, pi-esent your bill to me, and I will cash it, poor as I am. R. N. Randolph, Vt., Jan. 1, 1863. Remarks. — Excelleiit. Your Club is probably as valuable to the town as the best district school in it. We shall always he glad to hear from you. For the Xeic Enylnnd Farmer. ERROES IN BOOKS AND NE"WSPAPERS. If books and agricultural newspapers were more careful in their statements thei'e would not be so frequent sneers among the common jjcople about book farming. They often expose themselves to these contemptuous remarks. Even the Farmer is not always free from mistakes. In your last week's paper, you have an article from the Valleji Farmer, on the sources of plant food, iii which is an absm-d statement of experiment, from which it is said has been shown that about two-thirds of the carbon of plants is derived from the atmos- phere. This is all well, whether true or not ; but it adds that in some cases double or triple that amount. Now consider what portion of carbon comes from the atmosphere in these cases of double or triple the usual quantity — that is, four or six-thirds, besides what is derived from other sources — a third more or double the whole. Scarcely is a paper published without containing just such absurdities from the writers in it. It reminds me of the remark of the late eccentric Dr. Ramsay, in pointing out the errors of authors on anatomy, who preferred writing to working, and compared them to his servant Donald, who upset him into the gutter in Edinburgh, and being questioned, why he did so, replied that he wanted to cut a dash. Your correspondent, J. W. Brown, in the same issue enumerates many amusing so-called experi- ments on feeding stock. One of Mr. Montague, to prove raw food preferable for pigs, to cooked. The two fed on eight bushels of raw meal gained, while two others kept half-starved on four bush- els lost. Perhaps Mr. Montague might satisfy himself on the subject by trpng to fat two pigs on raw potatoes, and at the same time give tM'o others the same quantity cooked. The result of such an experiment, fairly made, Avould be worth publishing. RuFUS McIntire. Farsonsfield, Dec. 29, 1862. ble, should not devote a portion of his time to the study of agriculture, as well as the one who intends to be a merchant to studying book-keep- ing, or the one who intends to be a public speak- er to studying rhetoric. It must be remembered that public opinion has greatly changed within the past fifty years, in re- gard to the intelligence of farmers. It is not fifty vears since a Boston paper inquired what right the farmer had to lay his huge ])aws upon the statute book, and thought they were better adapted to the use of the muck-rake and the manure-fork ! But those days are ])assed by, as the increase of agricultural jjublications will' fully show. I think that improvements in agricultural implements and literature must go hand in hand, aiul, if we con- tinue to progress, we shall take the position in society which rightfully belongs to us. My main hope of salvation to the country rests upon the intelligence of the farmers. They never will sub- mit to be slaves, and I hope ere long to see more of them have the control of our public aflfairs. Thomas Haskell. West Gloucester, Dec. 12, 1862. For the New England Farmer. STUDY YOUR CALIiINQ. Mr. Editor : — The discussion of the expedi- ency of introducing the study of agriculture into our common schools is an open question in the Farmer at the jjresent time. And as I like to have a word to say upon subjects interesting to farmers, I thought I would give my opinion. I presimie that all intelligent persons will admit that the practice of a calling can be more readily learned, if the theory be well understood. I can see no reason why a boy that intends to be a farmer, after he has fairly mastered reading, wri- ting and arithmetic, which I consider indispensa- For the \ew FngUtnd Farmer. COOKED AND UNCOOKED FOOD FOR SWINE. Mr Editor : — A short time since you invited young men to write for the Ntio Fnyland Far- mer. I belong to that class, therefore I take my pen to note down a few facts. Much has been written in regard to feeding cooked and uncooked food to swine. Exjjeriments have been tried, and different conclusions arrived at. The decision of your correspondent is in favor of cooking the meal. I think it is an established fact, that one bushel of cooked meal will make as nmch pork as one bushel and one-half of uncooked meal. That is, meal that would be worth only fifty cents per bushel to feed raw, would be worth seventy- five cents if cooked. According to experiments, the ])roduce of one acre ground and cooked, will make as much jjork as the ])roduce of one acre and one-half fed raw. Pigs will take on flesh a little faster to feed them raw meal, for the reason that they eat a larger quantity than they do when it is made into mush. But the largest ])rofit from the least outlay, is what suits the true Yankee. Mr. Sidney Mead, of this town, killed, a few days since, two small spring pigs nine months old, which were a good argument in favor of cooking the meal. They weighed as follows : The heavi- est one, 400 pounds, fat included. The lightest one, 35o pounds. I do not admire swine much myself, but those who do called them handsome pigs. Our Saviour made swine very useful, and it would have been far lietter for tiie human race, if hogs had always been used to drown Devils with, instead of breeding disease in the human system. In the Patent ()ftice Report for the year 1847 is an interesting letter, from Mr. Henry L. Ells- worth, of Indiana, stating the residt of exj)eri- ments he tried, to test the value of cooked and uncooked food for swine. After exjierimenting a long time on four hogs, he came to the following conclusion : — That raw food is, to the cooked food, as 66 to 103, making the gahi by cooking about fifty-five per cent, over uncooked' food j or 78 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. MAKai corn worth 31 cents per bushel fed raw, was worth 48 cents per bushel, ground and cooked. Oliver P. Mead. Middlehury, Vt., Jan., 1863. Remarks. — Nothing in the way of flesh as food looks more inviting to us than a hog that has been skilfully dressed, — and we cannot join our correspondent in the opinion that swine's flesh is unwholesome, when reasonably used. To most persons, a well cooked sparerib is as wel- come as any flesh that is brought upon the table ; but it is so delicious that we are quite apt to eat too much, and charge the consequences to the un- wholesomeness of the meat. We know of noth- ing that will go so far and so Avell in the farmer's family as a good hog, properly dressed and taken care of. Scarcely a dinner, all through the sum- mer months, can be suitably provided without its aid in one form or another. If all would cook properly and eat sparingly, less complaint would be heard that pork is unhealthy. For the Neio England Farmer. THE CUTiTUKE OF PEARS. THEIR ORIGIN AND IMPROVEMENT. The pear is a native of Europe and Asia. It was known to the ancient Romans, as Virgil and PJiny expressly mention it, but it was quite in- ferior to our modern pears. Some English writ- ers, however, claim that it originated in the Brit- ish Isles, but it is probable that national pride, rather than the facts in the case, had some influ- ence in setting up this claim. Like many other very valuable fruits, pears were originally small, knarly and bitter. Pliny says, " They are heavy meat, unless baked or boiled." From a mere cJioke pear, they have been made rich, melting, and delicious, by science and art. They are al- ready among the finest fruits we have upon our tables, and improvements are still being made in this important article of dessert by more intelli- gent and scientific cultivation. The finest pears the world has yet seen are cultivated in Belgium and France, and the Northern and Middle States of this country are not much behind in the pro- duction of this luxury. Van Muns, of Belgium, is the Nestor of the pear culture. Whatever i)rcten- sions Great Britain may set up to the origin of the pear, she can certainly prefer no great claims to superiority in the qnalitu of the article she raises. Like the apple and many other fruits which come to great perfection in this country, those raised in Great Britain are confessedly of quite inferior fla- vor, although they are raised, like gra])es, against walls which are built expressly for the purpose, and at great ex])ense. Indeed, the extreme hu- midity of the British Islands is a serious obstacle to the ripening of any of the more delicate vege- tables, and this fact, doubtless, occasioned the sar- casm of a French writer, Avho says that " no fruit comes to maturity in England but baked apples." Within the last twenty-five years, astonishing improvements have been made in this country in the cultivation of pears. Most of us can probably recollect the time when but few farmers had more than two or three pear trees on then* farms, and those received but little attention, and bore but indifferent fruit ; and, indeed, this is too true of very many farmers at the present day. Others have made very commendable improvements, and nothing is now more common than to see the ])remises of professional men, business men, me- chanics, and the more intelligent farming popula- tion, well stocked with the choicest kinds of pears. This is especially true in the vicinity of our cities and large towns, and it should be the fact through- out a countiT so eminently adapted to the cultiva- tion of this important fruit. WHAT ARE THE BEST KIND OF PEARS? More than 1,200 different varieties of pears have been cultivated in Europe, and more than 800 foreign varieties have been tried in this coun- try, besides many others which originated here. Col. Wilder, of Dorchester, had 320 different kinds of pears at the late Pomological Exhibition in Boston. Not more than 30 or 40 of all these varieties, however, are worthy the attention of farmers and common gardeners. Amateurs are doing the world good service by increasing the number of pears, experimenting upon their differ- ent qualities, and thus determining what kinds are best adapted to general cultivation, and farmers can avail themselves of the results of their labors without going through all these long and toilsome processes at their own exjiense. Farmers should select only the best varieties, and they should be those which will produce a regular succession of fruit from the beginning to the end of the pear season. With my limited observation and expe- rience upon the subject, I should say that the fol- lowing kinds ought to be cultivated, and I name them somewhat in the order of their ripening : SUMMER PEARS. Madeleine, Rostiezer, Tyson, Dearborn's Seed- ling. FALL PEARS. Bartlett, Gansel's, Bergamot, Flemish Beauty, Andrews', Beurre Bosc, Seckel, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Buflum, Swan's Orange, Beurre de Anjou, Urbaniste, Dix, Duchesse D'Angouleme, Belle Lucrative. WINTER PEARS. Beurre D'Aremberg, Lawrence, Winter Nelis, GloUt Morceau, Beurre Diel, Easter Beurre, Vicar of Winkfield. 25 in all. I have nearly all these varieties, and some others, in cultivation, and most of them in a bear- ing state, and from some knowledge of their qualities, believe them to be worthy of general cultivation. I examined, with considerable care, all the pears which were presented at the late Pomologicnl and Horticultural Exhibition in Bos- ton, and with pencil in hand, took down the names of those which are not in my present col- lection, and which, from their apparently unusual qualities, I thought it desirable to obtain. I find by recurring to my memorandum that I had noted down the following, -which I intend to procure next spring : Beurre Montgeren, Rousselet, Royal of Pampilius, Sanguine De Belgique, Grosse Ca- lebasse, Moore's Pound, Beurre De Clairgeau, Dunmore, and Queen of the Low Countries. Which of the kinds now recommended should be upon quince, and which on pear stocks ? This 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. is a question of verj- considerable importance. Some of them appear to flourish well on either stock, but others are decidedly best on the quince. For instance, the slow growin}^ kinds, like the Seckel, do not grow well on the quince, and hence they should be double work-ed, as it is called, that is, a more vigorous kind should first be worked on the quince, and then the slow grower on that, which will give it a more ra])icl growth. The quince stock improves its quality, and the more vigorous pear on which it immediately stands, makes it grow more rapidly. The Madeleine will do equally well on the pear or the quince, but the Rostiezer and Dearborn's Seedling need a quince bottom. The Bartlett does well on both, but the size and flavor of its fruit are much improved by a quince stock. Gansel's Bergamot, Beurre Rose and Dix are very slow growers on their o\\ti bot- toms, and should be double worked on the quince. The Beurre D'Aremberg will succeed best on the Virgalieu, wliich has been worked on the quince. The Flemish Beauty, Duchesse D'.\ngouleme, and, indeed, nearly all the foreign varieties require quince bottoms. Cultivators who have but little land, and who wish to obtain fruit as early as pos- sible, will generally use only quince stocks, while those who have abundance of land, and desire pear trees which will last many years will more gener- ally emi)loy pear stocks. ' Some cultivators regard pear trees on quince stocks as mere aj)ologies for pear trees, on account of their want of durability. I have, however, seen pear trees in Col. Wilder's gardens, on the quince, which are twenty-five years old, and twenty feet in height, and which are now as vigorous as ever. Downing says their ordinary duration on a quince stock is about a dozen years, and on the pear about fifty. But pears on their own stocks, under very favorable conditions, will sometimes live several hundred years. The famous Endicott pear tree is still flourishing in Danvers, though it wa» planted there by Gov. Endicott in the year 1G28, eight years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. The celebrated Stuyvesant pear tree, originally planted by one of the early Dutch Governors in the city of Xcw York, more than two hundred years ago, is still standing, I believe. It is a summer pear, like the summer Bonchretien. "WHAT IS THE BEST TIME AND MANNER OF TRANSPLANTING PEAR TREES? Experienced cultivators differ as to the best time, but I cannot divest myself of the convic- tion that the Spring is the best season. It is more in harmony with the laws of nature. Hardy forest trees may do equally well in the s])ring or autumn, but the more delicate fruit trees, in my ownjudg.mcnt, do much better to be planted out as soon as possible after they are taken up, and at the season of the year when they can proceed at once to repair the damage to their rootlets which are unavoidably occasioned by removal. They should also be taken up with the greatest care, not, as many do, by digging a circle round the trees and cutting off all the roots a foot or two from the trunk, but by loosening the soil about the trees, and then with an iron bar lift them out bodily and gradually, with as many of the small fibres as it is possible to retain. They should then be placed, the sooner the better, in holes previously prepared for the purpose, and at anj' , rate a foot or two larger in diameter than the en- tire roots of the tree after thev have been care- fully spread out, like so many radii from the cen- tre to the circumference. The holes should be dug two feet deej) and at least six feet in diameter, and the trees set in, and compost of loam. sul)soil and manure thoroughly incorjjorated together. All trees on quince stocks should be set so deep that about four inches of the graft will be below the surface of the ground, for the doul)le purpose of preventing borers from getting access to the quince stocks, and of making tlie graft throw out new roots into the earth, which it will do. if. with a gouge, you have made one or two incisions in the bark just at the bottom of the graft. The ground about pear trees should be kept under constant and deep cultivation. Wil.VV ARE THE BEST MANURES FOR PEAR TRPZES ? A chemical analysis of the ash of the pear tree shows that potash, phosphate of lime, carbonic acid and lime constitute about 88 j)arts in 1(»() of its qualities. The manures, tlien, that are best adapted to pears are clearly those which contain the most of these several ingredients, and in the proportions in which they art found in the tree it- self Good stable manure, composted with peat or mud, is, therefore, generally speaking, the best manure, but if tlie land is hilly, ashes, salt and plaster should be added ; but if it is low and wet, charcoal, bo7ie manure, soap suds, and especially night soil, should be used. A very ex])erienced and oliserving cultivator has informed me thit the contents of sewers, and particularly night soil, are the veiy best manures for bringing barren ])ear trees into a productive state. This whole subject needs to be subjected to the most thorough and scientific experiments, for the matter of carefully ada])ting manures to the natures of difl'erent vege- tables, so as to bring them to the greatest degree of perfection, is yet but little understood by the most intelligent horticulturists. Scientific physi- cians will not prescribe the same medicliu's for cholera morbus, diabetes, and the toothache, and farmers should not apply the same manure indis- criminately to all sorts of vegetables and fruits. PRINING AND THINNING. Pear trees require but little pruning, and es])e- cially but little should be done the same year. A pear tree is not usually a very handsome tree. An aj)ple tree can be so gi-afted, ])runed and guided in its growth as to be made a large, sjjreading, well balanced, and symmetrical tree. Art can make it really beautiful. But a pear tree, under any circumstances, can hardly be called a bcauti- ftd object. It appears the best when it is young, but usually becomes more and more unsightly the older it grows. Some human beings are so ugly in their apjiearance that, more than others, they are put upon their good behavior to make some amends for tlieir homeliness, and they are obliged to extract all the consolation they can from the old maxim, " Handsome /s that handsome does." It is something so with pear trees. "We must put them u])on their good behavior, and if they will produce us handsome fruit, we will square tlie ac- count with them as to the matter of beauty. Pear trees require less pruning than any of our common fruit trees, excej)! the cherry. Grapes grow upon wood wlxich is made the same year, 80 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March peaches on wood which was made the year before, and pears on wood which is two years old or more. Tlie pear is naturally a slow grower and of great longevity, and it therefore has less re- dundant branches than most other fruit trees. But under the strong stimulus of modern culti- A'ation, much care should be taken that they be properly headed in. This should be done early in August, both to keep them in a more symmet- rical shape, and to make them put forth fruit buds for the next year. Many cultivators do not thin out their fruit suf- ficiently. But few trees can bear very large quan- tities of first rate fruit, and none but fruit of the very best quality can bring remunerative prices in an overstocked market, or are wanted on our own tables. The very powerful stimulants which are now injudiciously applied to force pear trees into early and prolific bearing, tend to an excessive in- crease both of wood and of fruit. This excessive growth must be met by a considerable reduction of the wood and fruit, or the fruit Mill be small and of indifferent quality, and the tree itself of short duration. This forcing ])rocess is extremely injurious. If trees are heavily laden with fruit, and the fruit is not very considerably thinned out, the proprietor will find himself disappointed when it is brought to his table or carried to market, and still further disappointed in the barrenness of his trees for two or three subsequent years. It re- quires a very hard heart to reduce overbearing trees sufficiently, but it must be done if we would secure the best fruit, and this is one of the very few cases where a hard heart is at all useful. HARVESTING PEARS. It is said to require more skill to keep money than to make it, and it requires quite as much to harvest and ripen pears properly as to 7-aise them. Some kinds ripen best on the tree and others in the house. Some ripen best in a dark, cool room, and others in close boxes. Some ripen best spread out on shelves, and others wrapped in paper or cotton wadding. Those gentlemen who are so unfortunate as to have those kinds which require to be ripened in cotton wadding, will see a reason, not very often urged in the newspapers, for the speedy overthrow of the rebellion, that cotton may be more easily obtained. Some vari- eties, like the D'Aremberg, will ripen well with no other care than placing them in barrels in the cellar, as we do apples. But most of the finer winter dessert pears should be brought into a roon> where the temperature is oO or 70 degrees, some two weeks before they arrive at maturity, and should be kept covered, or they will shrivel and become worthless. MORE WINTER PEARS DESIRABLE. First rate winter pears are but few in number, and it is a great desideratum to obtain more of them, so that we may have them on our tables or for the market through the winter and spring, and if possible till the next crop makes its appearance. Such pears in the spring would command almost fabulous prices, and would amply reward the extra care and pains necessary to pre])are them for market. Indeed, so fastidious is the public taste, that no fruits will reward the labors of the cultivator, unless they are of the veri/ first qual- ity, and tliis demand for fruits and vegetables of the very highest order of excellence will doubtless increase, as the country advances in wealth, and in the means of luxurious living. Pear raising, and all other kinds of farming, in order to be successful, must be conducted more and more upon scientific principles. We are yet quite in our infancy in these matters, but this Association, and others of a kindred character, if properly conducted, will do much towards supplying us with the requisite information. But I am well aware that much that I have said is quite superfluous, as many of the members of this Association, if not all, are much better informed on this subject than myself. They maj', perhaps, make the same objection to the views I have advanced, Avhich the Irishman made to the moon : — " Be jabers," said he, " the moon don't amount to much, for it won't shine except on light nights, and then it ain't needed." For the N'ew England Farmer, A HAPPY NEW YEAB. A few thoughts in reference to the coming year -^ suggested by the usual compliment of the season, " a happy new year," may possibly be of some service, as hints to some one to start on the look- out for a happy new year — happy in its results to them and theirs, eventuating in happiness to oth- ers within the circle of their influence or their beneficence, or both. My first thought is, that, in order to have a happy new year, I must commence with myself, recognizing the fact that a man's happiness con- sists not so much in the abundance of the things he possesseth as in the spirit and temper of mind he hidulges. I must not be a churl, a fretful, self-willed man ; I must not enter my house with a dark and clouded countenance ; I must not feel, nor act, as if every ftne and everything around must be sub- ject to my caj)rice, or whim, or notions of right. In all of these several particulars, I must be just the opposite, so far as it is possible for humanity to be. I must be kindly aflectioned, patient, for- giving, cheerful, and self-sacrificing. Without these, I have no reason nor right to expect to be happy — with them in full measure, every reason- able ground for it, if coupled with industry and the fear of God. Am I prosperous, rejoice therein ; if the re- verse, I must meet my allotment with resignation, finding my consolation in the consciousness of having faithfully looked after my fiocks and my herds, and availed myself of all the information within my reach, and the resources of my own mind, to achieve success. For the future, no success shall greatly elate, or failure depress. If I deal my bread to the hungry, nor hide myself from mine own flesh — if I honor the Lord with my substance, and the first fruits of all my increa.se, my barns shall be filled with plenty, and my presses burst out with new wine. This is the usual allotment of Providence, and I will abide therein, with the full assurance that each returning year will be a happy one. Bochester, Jan., 1863. o. K. Indolence is a stream which flows slowly on, but yet undermines the foundation of every virtue. 186^. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 81 For the Xew England Farmer. FLAX CULTURE— No. 1. Mr. Editor : — I notice an article in the De- cember number of the Farmer, written by your- self, on the importance of cultivating flax to suji- ply the place of cotton, and as you very truthfully remai-k, that but very few ])eople know anything about tlie cultivation and after preparation neces- sary to lit it for market, a few remarks on that suliject may not be inappropriate. As for myself, I have been in the business for the last fifteen years, and live in a town which produces as much flax, I presume, as any town in the United States — the amount raised tHis year being some over 1,300 acres 1 The counties of Rensselaer and Washing- ton are said to be the greatest flax growing coun- ties in York State, and Xew York and Ohio are the two principal flax growing States of the Union. In Ohio, it has heretofore been raised for the seed, exclusively, no use hanng been made of the fibre, but in this State it is raised fully as much for the lint as seed. In two or three towns in Rensselaer, flax dressing machines are as plentiful as saw- mills in Maine, and just at present, much more profitable. In your article, you quoted from a speech of Stephen M. Allen, Esq., in which he makes some pretty large estimates of the yield of an acre of flax, estimates Avhich would raise expec- tations in the minds of the new beginner never to be realized. Although flax is a profitable crop for the farmer at any time, and doubly so at the pres- ent time, and every legitimate means should be employed to induce farmers to cultivate it, in or- der that we may have a substitute for cotton, still, if they ai-e induced to embark in its cultivation by exaggerated estimates of its yield and profits, they will l)ecome discouraged with the first exj)eriment, and abandon it altogether. I mean no disresjject towards Mr. Allen in re- viewing his speech a little, for I presume he de- rived his estimates from the most correct data at hand, which he, not being a practical flax grower, had no means of knowing the truth of. lie esti- mates the yield of lint, or fibrilia, as he terms it, at 500 pounds to the acre, which he says is a small estimate, and he also gives 25 bushels of seed to the acre as a fair yield of seed. I never have known but very few pieces of flax that would yield 500 pounds of dressed lint to the acre ; 400 ]jounds is called an excellent yield, and 300 ])ounds is more than the average. The average yield for the past five years in this county was as follows, viz. : in 1857, the best; of all the five, it was 3S7 lbs. ; in 1858, 237 lbs.; in 1859. 323 11)S. ; in 1860, 311 lbs.; and in 1801,238 lbs. The average for the five years being 29.:> 1-5 lbs. The yields of seed were as follows, respectively: 12^ bushels, 9^, 13, 8, and 10 ; and the average for the whole time, 10 3-5, bushels, which is rather below Mr. Allen's estimate. He also says that the unrotted straw from an acre is worth .S20 for food for cattle. Now it is positively impossil)le to make stock of any kind eat the straw of flax in any shape whatever. They would sooner eat the bark from trees, broom corn, potato vines, or anything you might name, than flax shives. Tons of it may be seen piled uji near most flax machines, although in some few cases it is mixed with the manure and put on the land, and if it was done so to a much greater extent, it would be a source of considerable i)rofit. It is valuable for bedding in the stable, absorbing the liquids, thereby adding to the value of the manure. When plowed under, it renders tlie soil light and loose, and for putting around currant, gooseberry, and all other bushes in the garden, if is unsur- passed by anything, as it prevents the weeds and grass from growing, and keeps the moisture in the soil during droughts. When used in this way, it has precisely the same eflect on the soil that leached ashes do, keeping it as light as an ash- heap, (to use a homely phrase.) They are also excellent for banking where we wish to stop frost. A potato hole covci-ed one foot deej) with them, can be opened at any time during the winter, as they will not freeze through. In my next, I will explain the manner of cultivation. Agriculturist. Xew York, December, 1862. WHITTEMORE'S PATENT VEGETABLE CUTTER. We have been long an earnest advocate for rais- ing roots for our neat stock dvring the long period when they must be fed on dry fodder. Every year's experience adds to the strength of our con- '^^■^ victions that they can be raised and fed out with a decided profit to the farmer. They not only make uji a certain amount of food for the stock, but in addition to the actual nutriment which they supplv, they have an important influence in kec])- ing animals healthy, and in the most vigorous and growing condition. When the roots have been prodMC4.-d. however, the same economy which suggests raising them, also suggests that they sliould be projierly pre- pared before being fed to the cattle. Various con- trivances are resorted to in order to reduce their size, so that they can be eaten without danger of choking the animal. Some persons chop them with a hatchet, and others with a shovel, but both 82 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March processes are slow and tedious. There are several machines in the agricultural warehouses for this purpose, one of the best of which is Whittemore's Patent Vegetable Cutter. It is capable of cutting a bushel of turnips, or other roots, in a single minute, and is provided with two sets of knives, so that the roots may be cut coarse or fine, as may be desired, and made suitable for sheep and calves, as well as cows and oxen. The cut above will give an idea of the machine. We have been using the cutter the present winter, and find it both rapid and efficient. It is man- ufactured and sold by Messrs. Whittemoke, Belcher & Co., at Chicopee Falls, and at 40 South Market Street, Boston. EXTRACTS AND EEPLIES. PREMATURE BIRTHS. I notice in your paper a column devoted to Extracts and Replies, and take the liberty to ask if you, or any of your subscribers, have been troubled with cows los- ing their young at this season of the year ? One of my neighbors lost fifteen calves by premature birth, two years ago ; others lost from three to ten last year. This season one has lost six, and others will soon come in ; another has lost four. The cows have no appearance of having been hurt, and are apparently in good health. Some of the young have the appearance of disease, others have not. Is it a disease, and if so, is it contagious ? Some think it is caused by herbage in the hay. I am told that dairies in the State of New York have suffered, in years past, to a consid- erable extent in the same way, the cows of some dairies having all yeaned before spring. If you can give us any light in the matter it may be of profit to us. S. L. Lincoln. South Adams, Jan., 1863. Remarks. — We sincerely sympathize with our South Adams friends in their losses. They are serious losses, as it is not only the loss of the calf, for the un- natiural process affects the cow so much that some good judges suppose she does not recover fram the bad effects of it for years, if she ever does. Losses of this kind are now daily occurring in other portions of our State, and inquiries are often made for the cause and a remedj'. The subject has been earnestly discussed in the Co?i- cord Farmers' Club, but without eliciting any reliable facts as to the cause. Gov. Holbrook, of Vt., was present at the meeting, and suggested various things as probable causes, — such as feeding with oil meal, or too highly of some kind of grain, harsh treatment, or exposure, or the prevalence of certain noxious plants in fodder. All these were met by some one or another of the members of the Club, proving satisfactorily to all that the real cause of the trouble had'not been sug- gested. In our own stock, for instance, we had nine cases of premature birth, and yet our cows ate no oil meal, and but very little grain, and their feed was uni- formly the best of timothy and red-top hay, with half a bushel of beets, turnips, carrots and swedes, cut and mixed. The water they drank was pure well water, and they were not exposed to sudden changes of weather, or confined in a too warm barn. They were treated kindly, and had no steep places to go up or down in going into or out of the barn. In short, there was no apparent cause for such results. The effect of such a birth upon the cow is a serious one. It deranges the system, she loses appetite and flesh, the hair stands out and is frowzy, the milk does not flow freely, and there seems to be a general dis- turbance of all the functions of the animal, so that it requires long and careful treatment to bring her up again. At the discussion of this subject, alluded to above, one of the members, Mr. Joseph D. Brown, who keeps a large stock of milch cows, stated that he would pay $'200, annually, to be insured against losses by prema- ture births among his cows. In attempting to ascer- tain the number of cases in the town that spring, the startling fact was announced that 30 cases had occurred within fourteen days in a single cluster of farms of less than a dozen in number. These cases took place among some of the best farmers in the town, — farm- ers proverbial for the kind treatment and judicious feeding of their animals. The discussion of the subject, as we have said, was an earnest one, — the questioning and cross-questiou- ing long and searching, and yet nothing was gained from it to satisfy any as to the cause of the difficulty. There was a skilful physician in the Club at the time, and farmers of as acute observation and systematic practice as can be found anywhere. The next year the cases were less numerous, and have continued to decrease annually since, though they still occasionally occur. We wish we could throw some light upon the sub- ject, but have read and inquired in vain. We hope to hear from correspondents in relation to it FINE HOGS. I notice in last week's Farmer, Mr. E. D. Hicks, of North Yarmouth, Me., brags about a pig he killed, that weighed 451 lbs. when dressed, at 10 months old. I wish to say to Mr. Hicks that he must try once more, as we are ahead of him up here in Vermont. Mr. David Chase, of Whitingham, killed one 9 months 14 days old, whose weight was 496 lbs. We claim our blood to be Chester County. Will Mr. Hicks inform us of what blood his was ? I had a pair of these pigs sent me in June, 1861, from W. R. Lewers, Milford, Mass., and they have multiplied well, having produced 21 pigs at two litters. I have distributed them in this vicinity, and they prove to be just what our farmers have long been looking for. The half bloods have dressed off from 265 lbs. — that beiny the lightest — to 425 lbs. at from 8 to 10 months old. T. Cross. MontpeUer, Vt., Jan., 1863. TO KILL VERMIN ON ANIMALS. I noticed in the Farmer, Jan. 3d, an inquiry for the surest and safest way to kill lice on animals. I have found by much experience that tobac(?b smoke is a safe and certain remedy for them. The pipe that I use was made by taking an inch auger and boring into the end of a stick of wood six inches, then cut it off eight inches long, and bore the rest with a small bit or gim- let ; shave the end down to a point, and fit a stopple to the auger hole, and then bore through the stopple with a gimlet or bit. Dry the tobacco and cut it up fine, fill the pipe and set the tobacco on fire, then blow through the hole in the stopple. A Friend to the Farmer. PURE COTSWOLD SHEEP WANTED. Will you inform me where I can purchase a few pure blood Cotswold Sheep .' Luther L. Robinson. Portsmotdh, N. H., Jan., 1863. Remarks. — We are not able to inform our corres- pondent. Those having them to sell may find a cus- tomer by addressing Mr, R. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 8S "WHAT MAKES THE HENS DIE ? The first symptoms of ailment are swelling of the head about the eyes, nearly as large as a walnut, on both sides of the head, above and below the eyes. They walk about slowly from one to three weeks, and then die. A number have thus died. North Charlcstown, X. H., 1863. o. 8. Remarks. — The disease described above is a catarrh, the symptoms of which are similar to those in the hu- man system, namely, a watery or sticky discharge from the nostrils, and a swelling of the eyelids ; in bad cases the head is swollen at the sides, and the disease has the appearance, or seems to run on to true roup, catarrh, or sicc/k'd head. The cause is generally exposure to cold and dampness, such as long continuance of wet weather, or roosting in damp, chilly places, or places that are open to damp, cold winds. In simple cases, the treatment may be removal to a dry, warm situation, and a supply of food rather more nutritious and stimulating than usual. In severe cases, the fowl should at once be separated from the rest. Bathe the nostrils and head with warm water into which two or three drops of the tincture of arnica has been placed, and occasionally with warm milk about the eyes, or with weak, warm soap suds ; and then rub the head gently with a piece of warm flannel. Keep the sick fowl in a warm, clean place, with a bed of hay to sit upon. It is possible that some internal remedy may be useful. This disease is apcompanied with intermittent fever, and two or three drops of weak tincture of aconite would, probably, be useful in allay- ing it. The poor birds suffer much, and require ten- der care at such times. sore mouth in sheep. I am surprised that your correspondent, George French, of Sutton, N. H., never before saw sheep afflicted with sore mouth. It is not a common disease, but occasionally a flock will have it, and if not at- tended to immediately, will lose flesh very fast. I have known of three flocks having it the past season, which is uncommon for this vicinity. The cause I ascribe to exposure to wet and cold. For a remedy for sore mouth in sheep, take equal parts of tar, lard and sulphur, warm and mix them thoroughly. Apply warm to the lips. I have known one thorough ap])lication to cure. Gardner Herrick, 2d. South Reading, Vt., Jan., 1863. Remarks. — Mr. James M. Bass, of Williamstown, Tt., informs us that he does not know the cause of sore mouth in sheep, but that tar applied to the affected parts will cure it. stock for our farms. For a time, the memory of man runneth not to the contrary, have I heard this subject agitated, but still when I go among the farmers I do not find any essen- tial alteration for forty years last past. Notwithstand- ing some speculative gentlemen and fancy farmers have introduced a few animals of what are termed the improved breeds, the great majority of animals, four- fifths at least, are of the New England stamp. "Why is this so ? Have not our farmers intelligence enough to understand what is most for their own interest ? I believe they have, and that their continuing to use the stock to which they have been accustomed, is not be- cause it is less Jit to be used, but because they think it best to be used. I would value one fact of this kind more than all the fancies derived from the finest Dur- hams, Devons or Ayrshires ever imported. The first objection to these imported breeds is, the expense of procuring them. As a general thing, they cost at least four times as much. When, therefore, a young man is about to commence farming, and wants ten cows and a bull to start with, it is quite material to him to inquire whether he shall pay .$"oO apiece, or $200 apiece for his stock. In the one case it requires an outlaj: of SoOO— in the other an outlay of .«2,000— a ditlerence of S'l.oOO the interest of mdre than SlOO, the whole of the expected profits of his first year's labor. For I doubt whether there is more than one in ten of the young men who start in farming who make a larger profit than $100 in the first year of their en- terprise. If they can make $100 the first year, they can make $12.5 the second year ; and so they can go on for twenty years, until they get to be worth $5,000 —and then they will have' boys and girls enough around to enable them to advance more rapidlv. This, as a general thing, is as much as can be said of the profits of farming, and this is more than can be said of any other pursuit. p. farmer SHELDON, OF WILMINGTON. 1 have read the autobiography of this gentleman with much interest. It is a neatly printed duodecimo volume of 37o pages, each of which contains some striking fact worthy of remembrance. I know them to be facts, because they are so like the author, and no one else. 1 know them to be facts, because forty years' acquaintance with the author has impressed me with entire confidence in his integrity and veracity. It is the story of the life of a plain Yankee farmer, told by himself. Whoever reads it will have reason to think his time ha» been profitably spent. p. ANOTHER FINE PORKER. Mr. Benjamin Town, of this town, recently dressed a Chester county pig, which weighed, at ten months old, 410 lbs. The leaves weighed 38 lbs. Montpelier, Vt., Jan., 1863. WILD GEESE. AVill you, or some of your readers, inform me, either through the Farmer, ox by letter, where I can obtain a pair of full blooded AVild Geese ? Allen Toby. Calais, Vt., Jan., 1863. For the New Englaml Farmer. THE APPLE CHOP. The apple croj) has been so abundant this voar that it has been difficult to pet barrels to hold them. While it is quite as well, perhaps, to keep them for home use in open bins or boxes, they can only be propeily marketed in good, strong, full-hooped, headed-up barrels. But few of the ai)ples poured into Boston stop there to be consumed. A late steamer took out fifteen hundred barrels to England. Mr. Tudor has just sent five thousand barrels to Calcutta. There has been a large shipment the whole fall to the British Provinces. Now purchasers for these markets, or for any distant one, require that the apples should not only be sound and handsome, but that they should be i)ut up in good barrels. The barrels should be headed uj). It will pay to do it for all worth tak- ing to market. Apples to be shipped, of a)urse, require to be covered. But the purchaser, living hut a few streets oft", will buy more readily, and often at a higher ])rice, if he can feel sure that all the apples he buys will reach his home, as they will if nailed right up before his eyes while he is counting his money. No aj)])les ought ever to be sent to market in dirty barrels. It is but a single minute's work to dash in a pail or two of water, and witli a l)room, too much worn to be worth much in the house, give it a thorough cleansing. Every nail should be clenched down. Simple and reasonable as these directions seem, how often they are neglect- ed. Barrels are filled which are covered with 84 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Makch flour and mouldy dirt. Apples are often put in to be cut and bruised against a dozen or more of nails. A purchaser of such will be shy of trading with you again ; while your clean, nice barrel, good to the bottom, will recommend your next loads. It is so easy to pack off everything to Boston, that some dreadful poor stuff has to be sold there sometimes. Fairer fruit should be cultivated, and \ all the ordinary used at home. While so much ■unwholesome vinegar is manufactured, it seems a /pity that cider enough should not be made from ■ordinary apples to supply the demand for pure vinegar. It sliould be remembered that the market is not easily glutted with fair, elegant fruit. At the close of the year I can look back and see where I have " missed it," and also where I have gained by judicious labor. I trimmed apple trees all through the month of June, whenever I could leave other work. On such trees I had faii'er, and higher colored fruit than on other trees near by, not so treated. If I live till another summer, I shall endeavor to let more sunshine into my thick tree-tops, satisfied that in this way only can I raise handsome apples. \v. D. B. Concord, Mass., Nov., 1862. For the New England Farmer. ROTARY FARMERS' CLUB. Mr. Editor : — The formation of a " Rotary County Farmers' Club," at which the leading farmers may come together and discuss farming subjects, is creating a new interest in regard to the real wants of the agriculturists of Hampden county. At the first meeting held here, some thi-ee weeks since, the subject of agriculture, and its comparative progress throughout this section, was brought up, and the entire discussion went to show, that, so far as real advancement was con- cerned, the farming interests of Hampden county were sadly neglected, and that a general awaken- ing was needed. To remedy this, and to inspire our farmers with a new interest in the work, those present proposed that frequent meetings be held m different parts of the county, at which they might meet and compare notes, and if possible, arrive at some definite results, the explanation of which might not only be useful here, but else- where. At the second meeting, on the week following, the subject of farm stock was proposed, and ably discussed. Col. Phixeas Steuman, of Chicopee, (a member of the State Board of Agriculture,) read a paper upon the neat stock of the county, which succeeded in bringing out the advocates of the different breeds of cattle, and their peculiar adaptation to the wants of different sections of the county. The farmers of the Connecticut Valley, in most instances, preferred the Short Horns, where a good milking stream of blood could be traced, while in the more remote parts, the Devon and Hereford, or crosses of these breeds with the Natives, were preferred. The theme was by no means exhausted, when the meeting closed, and a very general desire was expressed to continue it on the following week. In accordance with this expression, the argument was again resumed, and the general manner of feeding, &c., together with its results, in the experience of those engaged in the manufacture of butter and cheese, and the production of milk for the market, were given at some length. Now, while it is not possible to fix upon any one breed, which is perfectly adapted to every locality, much benefit and many valuable hints may be derived from the given experience of those engaged in raising the different breeds. The farmers' club has therefore taken hold of a subject which will induce much careful study, and a thorough investigation, and which will, we hope, turn the attention of the farmers of Ham])den county to the immediate improvement of their stock, by the introduction of thorough-bred ani- mals of the breed they may best prefer. We have at present among us quite a number who breed with care, ana whose herds are well worth attention. Col. Stedman, of Chicopee, William Birme, of Springfield, and Justin Ely, of West Springfield, are breeders of Short Horns, more particularly ; D. B. Merrick and William Sessions, of Wilbraham, the Devons, and Hor- ace Chapin, of Springfield, the Alderneys. Mr. Birnie has also a fine herd of Ayrshires. There have also been introduced into the county during the past year, some pure bred Herefords, by A. N. Merrick, of Springfield. They are from the imported stock of G. Clark, of Otsego county. New York. Mr. ^lerrick is also engaged in breed- ing the Short Horn and Devon cattle. South Down and Oxford Down sheep, Berkshire and Chester county swine, and many of the improved breeds of fowls. At some future time I will endeavor to give you a description of the Herefords owned by Mr. Merrick, and set forth, as far as I am able to do so, the merits of this truly valuable breed of cat- tle, which is as yet comparatively unknown among the farmers of Western Massachusetts. a. Sprimjfield, Jan., 1863. Remarks. — The plan sketched above is an ad- mirable one. The best agricultural results we have ever known attained, on an extended scale, were through the efforts of a " Rotary Couuty Farmers' Club," and Cheshire county, in the State of New Hampshire, is entitled to the credit of taking the lead. Several years ago, it appropri- ated about one-third of its current funds to defray the expenses of a series of meetings, one of which was held in each of the largest towns of the coun- ty. These meetings were announced by handbill, and in the newspapers of the county, and were continued through the entire day and evening in some cases, and in every case, in the afternoon and evening. They attracted not only the farm- ers, but clei"g}-men, lawyers, mechanics, physicians and women, sometimes a third part of a large au- dience being of the latter class. In three years after these meetings had closed, an observing fiirmer of the county informed us that as much wheat as was consumed by the population of the county, had been raised that year within its own borders ! The attention of the people was called, dm-ing these meetings, to nearly every interest of the farm, the garden and the domestic aflairs of 1863. XEW ENGLAND FARMER. 85 the family. The effect was almost electric, as the farms in every part of the county have presented a more thiiving aspect ever since. For the Xew England Farmer. HUDSON" RIVER HIGHLANDS— QEN. WASHINGTON— GRAPE GROWING. Mr. Brown : — Did you ever visit the Hudson River Highlands in winter ? If not, you have failed of an experience which I doubt not would be often recalled with great satisfoction in all af- ter life, providing your stay was sufficiently pro- longed to witness both storm and fair weather. 1 left New York city on the Hudson River liail- road. last Monday morning, at 7 A. M., for Fish- kill ; took the ferry boat and crossed over to Xew- burg. on the west side of the river. This is an old place, dating back beyond Revolutionarv times. It often was the headquarters of our troo])s in those days, and in the building where Washing- ton had his headquarters are now collected many relics of events then transpiring. At Canterburv, half a dozen miles below Newburg, I was showna house where Wasliington slept. The room he oc- cu))ied is regarded with veneration by the owners, and visitors often go there with feelings akin to Mohammedan worshippers at the shrine of the prophet of Mecca. I iear we have not a Wash- ington now to counsel and guide us in this our hour of calamity and sore trial. O, that our Heavenly Father would raise us up sucli an one to go before us and lead on to a successful issue of our national affairs ! A letter to a friend failing to reach him in time for him to meet me at Newburg, and two hours' •waiting for the stage not to be thought of on a pleasant day, when only six miles lay between me and my destination, I took my bag and umbrella, and trudged on at my own pace, fast or slow, as the changing views varied in interest to me as I pi'ogressed. From the spot from which I am writing, I have the river in front. Storm King on my riglit, and Round Top on my left, with quite a plat of allu- vial land between me and the river. These lands are more or less devoted to fruit of various kinds, and are well adapted for such use, while on the hill and mountain sides the grape is encroaching year by year. These vineyards are an interesting feature of the country. I think the time is not remote when the productions of our vineyards will take high rank with the great sta])les of our land. These mountains will be terraced to their very siuninit, and the luscious grape be cultivated thereon with remunerative success. In answer to the inquiry made of the friend with whom I am stopping, as to the time he usually expected frost in autumn, he said not until about the middle of November, while the low lands along the river and in the valleys would have it at least a month earlier, and liable to much sooner, even, than that. This absence from frost in the highlands, or up the mountains, is the great desideratum in the successful growing of the grape. Were it not for the early frosts of Massachusetts, we could grow the grape quite as successfully in many places as it is done here. I am told here that the Catawba will bear two or three frosts without injury, while the Isabella would be ruined bv the fu'st touch. This is an important fact to those who cultivate the grape. The I )elaware is getting to be much esteemed here, and bids fair to supersede most others. M\ friend finds it more profitabli' to con- vert his grapes into wine than to market the fruit. As a temperance man, I have some repugnance to this wine-making. I fear it mav eventually re- sult in great evil. Still, if men will drink wine and strong drink — if we cannot prevail upon them to give up the abominable compounds con- cocted for their use — why, I don't knciw but we shall do them a favor in sup])lying them with a pure and, compared with what they now use, harmless beverage. But this question I leave for those more versed in such matters. The lands here are held at very high prices, owing to the influx of visitors to spend the warm season, and the erection of summer residences by merchants in the city. Fabulous returns are re- alized by some of the fruit giowers for their crops in good seasons. This stimulates others to try their hand, and many a man in the city lias, dan- cing before his eye, visions of wealth in connec- tion with his outlays here in vineyards and fruit orchards. So fiir as I am now informed, com does not do as well as with us in Massachusetts. Potatoes generally good, and but little I'ot. Green crops not very good. Facilities for market very good. Most of the farmers seem to be thriving men in this business. There is a spirit of im- provement among the masses that is perceptible at a glance over their premi.ses. As usual with me, I have fiiiled noting what I intended when I sat down. I may refer to this ramble again, and what I saw and thought. o. K. Cornwall, N. 1'., Jan., 1863. For the \etr England Farmer. WINTER FEEDING OF SHEEP. Mr. Editor : — I have been farming something over twenty years, keeping sheep, with as little other stock as would suffice for the necessary team work, and su])ply the family with milk and butter, having usually a little more than one hundred, so as to have as near as possible to one hundred breeding ewes. It is often said that sheep will run a farm down, but my experience does not prove it so. My farm was prized to me at 81.600. and after keeping sheep some eighteen years, I sold it for 83,(M)0. For a few years ])ast I have been in the habit of feeding a good many potatoes to my shcej) ; two vears ago I fed 500 bushels to 100 sheep, almost the whole of them boiled ; one year ago. 400 bush- els. One year ago I fed 110 bushels, with one foddering of oat straw, one of corn fodder, and one of unthreshed oats, and two bushels of boiled potatoes per day, no hay ; the straw being green enough to be good, and the unthreshed oats cut rather green. I could not see that they lost flesh any, managed in this way. i have usually fed twice a day to hay. and once to straw, at noon, but that sj)oils their ai)])etitc for the straw, and I think it better to feed as I stated above, until the straw is nearly gone. It is well to save some of the straw and keep one rack filled M-ith it, after commencing on hay. so that they can go eat it when they please. There is no danger of their eating too many po- 86 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March tatoes ; Avhen they are boiled, thej^ are much more wholesome, and do them more good. I know that many think potatoes are worth but little for sheep, but i think I shall continue to raise them as long as I keep sheep, especially when they can be raised as easily as Californians can at i)resent. It requires some caution in feeding them raw ; they should have but little at first, and by degrees they ■wUl come to eat almost any quantity without being iscoured. It is a bad practice to commence feed- ing the ewes to raw potatoes when they are hav- ing their lambs, as they will be quite likely to set the lambs into the scours. I have lost some in that way. I find the hard work of lugging so many pota- toes out of the cellar may be avoided by keeping a board before the cellar window, and heaping a little snow against it in the coldest W'eather. The board can be removed, to set them out, and then replaced, and the potatoes taken to the kettle, and from thence to the barn on the hand-sled or wheel- barrow, with but little hard work. I know my practice in keeping sheep is differ- ent from that of farmers generally, who keep young cattle to eat the straw and corn fodder. As I cannot make the sheep eat more than three- fourths of the straw, it is a question in my mind whether it would not be better to keep some young cattle to eat up the straw. Perhaps it might be a good question for discussion in the Farmer, Whether three-fourths of the straw would not be worth as much, fed to sheep, at present prices of wool, as any other way it could be disposed of? Sheep will like good corn fodder (after they have been confined to it a day or two, to learn them to eat it,) better than straw. M. D. Baxter. North Thdford, Vt, Jan., 1863. For the Kew England Farmer, OTS PKESERVING MILK S"WEET. Mr. Editor : — The last Agricultural Report from the Patent Office contains, among many val- uable articles, one upon milk, in which are found some interesting estimates and facts. I have taken the pains to copy the following portion on " Meth- ods of preserving milk," which I think may be useful and interesting to your readers. " 1. By heat. 2. By evaporation, or condensa- tion. 3, By cold and quiet. 1. Heating milk in the open air, or scalding it. — Several years since, Gay Lussac, an eminent French chemist, demonstrated that if milk be gradually raised to the boiling point two days in succession in winter, and three in summer, it would keep two months without souring. Bottle the milk tightly with wired corks, and place in cold water. Raise the water gradually to the boil- ing point. Remove the kettle from the fire and allow the water to cool. Milk treated in this way will keep six months. By these methods, the taste is somewhat changed, but it answers for many purposes. 2. By condensation. — This process has been patented. It consists in evaporating until it so- lidifies, when it is sealed up in tin cans. It keeps sw'eet a great length of time. 3. Preservation by cold and quiet. — This meth- od is practiced by dairymen who send their milk to market by cars. The process consists in cool- ing to about 40° Fahrenheit, as soon as possible af- ter milking, and in keeping it at that temperature, in perfect quiet, till it is ready to be carried to the cars. The essential requisite is a spring of cold water. The quantity is not of so much conse- quence as the degree of coldness. The milk-house should be, if possible, on the north side of a hill, well shaded, so situated that the water will flow oft' readily. The tank should be about two feet wide, and long enough to con- tain all the cans, and its depth about four inches less than the depth of the can. The tank should be so arranged that there will be a constant cur- rent around each can. The ventilation of the house should be only sufficient to keep the air pure. In all cases, the ingress of the air should be prevented as soon as a thunder shower is seen rising, and no admittance allowed till the milk is to be removed. In clear, or rainy weather, the ventilator may be open, but never in showery weather. Ozone, which is freely generated by electricity, acts energetically on milk, souring it in a few minutes, many times destroying the milk before the shower has passed over. The tank should be so constructed as to be disconnected with the building. It should rest flat on the ground, so that any jar of the building cannot dis- turb the milk in the tank. The cows should be milked in the cool of the evening, the milk strained into the cans in which it is to be conveyed to mar- ket, remain uncovered, standing in the tank, and not allowed to be stirred, or even jarred. The cows should be milked in the morning before sun- rise, and the milk strained and ])laced in the tank as before. If there is a can partly filled Avith night milk, it must remain so, the warm morning's milk must not be mixed with the cool night's milk. At three or four o'clock in the afternoon, the milk is to be carried to the cars. The cans are then to be filled, if necessary. The milk being all cool, can be mixed. The cans are then placed in a wagon, and a net covering spread over them Over this, buflTalo robes, or other covering is thrown. The cans are placed in a car without anything over them. They are conveyed to New York in the night. The cans are then taken by milk-carts, and the milk is distributed to the con- sumers. The milk does not therefore leave the cans till it is sold, and is generally disposed of at a temperature nearly as low as it left the Inilk- house. In this condition it will keep sweet twen- ty-four or even thirty-six hours, and is a pure country milk, quite different from that peddled at a smoking temperature of 70 or 80°. This meth- od has been practiced on the Harlem railroad for several years. It was formerly thought necessary to stir milk several times while cooling. But this treatment has been found highly injurious. jNlilk should be kept as still as possible till it is cooled to about 40°, when it may be stirred or transport- ed a great distance without injury. The plain suggestion, then, is to have milk thor- oughly cooled before it is peddled out. Night's milk, cooled, may be sold in the morning ; morn- ing's milk in the evening. Morning's milk carried warm even but a few miles to market, will often sour in six or eight hours." The above statements contain hints that may be useful not only to sellers, but to buyers of milk. Concord, Jan., 1803. J. R. 1863. KEW ENGLAND FARMER. 87 PREPAKATION OP PRODUCE FOR THE I MARKET, We have before us six paper boxes, each hold- ing about a quart, containing samples of barley, ! oats, peas, wild seed of unknown plants, and chaff. Originally, these all came to market together, as they were put up on the thrashing floor, and were offered for sale as barley — that being the crop in- tended to be raised. On reaching the market, the farmer offered his barley fbr 90 cents per bushel, but tlie offer was not accepted ; no one seeming desirous to purchase such a mixture at any of the usual prices paid for barley. "While in this unpleasant dilemma, paying stor- age bills for his crop, and hotel bills for himself, he heard that one Sanford Adams, a curious genius in North Market Street, had invented some sieves wljereby he could separate the most obsti- nate case of complicated conglomeration of seeds. It was not difficult to find the man of sieves, to whom he, somewhat pathetically, made his state- ment, and inquired if he could relieve him. " Why, certainly," Mr. A. replied, " if I could take 3,000 rebel prisoners, and blow them up, as I did last week, (alluding to a million of worms, or less which he took from eight barrels of Pearl barley,) it would be strange if I could not separate tares from wheat, and oats and peas from barley!" " Well," said the farmer, " the times are hard, I am here on expense, and I wish you would try." And he did try, with the following result : — The farmer had 77 bushels of what he called barley, which he offered for 90 cents per bushel, equal to $69,30. When cleaned, he had 61 l)ush- els, which he sold for $1,25 per bushel, equal to $76,25, making a gain of 86,95. He then had 9 bushels of clean oats, now worth 70 cents per bushel, equal to $6,30 — 4 bushels of assorted peas, at $1,25, equal to $5, — and 3^ bushels of wild seed and 1 bushel of chaff, value not ascer- tained I By this process he made a gain of $18,- 25, or, after paying for separating, a net gain of $14,00. To say nothing of stopping expenses he was surely incurring for storage, board, vexation, &c. It is certainly surprising, that, with a thousand facts similar to this before him, the farmer will continue to bring his products to market in a con- dition so unattractive for sale, and so unsuitable for use. Such is the case, "however, with a verj- considerable proportion of the grain, beef, pork, mutton, poultry, butter, cheese, apples and pota- toes, that are brought into Boston market. Man- ufacturers understand the importance of giving their wares an attractive appearance, better than farmers do. How would cottons, linens and print goods sell, tumbled together in bales, with occa- sional yards an inch too narrow, and in other re spects imperfect ? Farmers complain bitterly of mowing machine and plow-makers, because a piece of brittle wood is introduced, or that the bolts are not square instead of round, so that they will not tm-n, or that the nuts on them are not all of the same size, forgetting that the imperfecliou of their own products when presented for sale, are liable to the same objections which they themselves make. The loss to the farmers of New England is im- mense, in the article of butter alone, from the im- perfect manner in which it is made and packed. We are told by some of the oldest dealers in this article, that a very large proportion of all that comes to this market is greatly reduced in value by its poor quality, or by the careless — if not slov- enly— manner in which it is put up, and that only one tenth of the whole will sell as " first-rate " but- ter, and command a high price. More attention is given to the making and packing of cheese. Beef is slaughtered nearer the market, and usually by skilful persons who appreciate appearances. A good deal of the pork is brought from a distance, and often presents such an appearance as, if re- membered, would forever bar one from eating a " rasher " with his breakfast, or a slice with his plate of baked beans at dinner. This winter, es- pecially, when we have had a continuation of weeks of moderately warm weather, it lias been dif- ficult to get pork to market in a sound and at- tractive condition. So it is with apples. If they were put into nice barrels, the very best by themselves, and then graded downward, the purchaser would know what he was buying, and would give a price for the whole greatly exceeding what he would offer for them if they were in a mixed condition. He has customers for the various qualities, but they must be separate lots. Of two persons marketing the same number of barrels of apples during the same autumn, one realized one dollar per barrel, for the same kind of apples, more than his neighbor re- ceived. This was done, entirely, by gi-ading the apples and presenting them in a neat and attrac- tive form. The sieves through which the good work was accomplished in the case of the barley, are small, cheap and effective, and will probably save their cost annually, on any fann from which a consid- erable quantity of grain, peas or beans, is sold. Mr. Adams' place of business is at No. 34 North Market Street, Boston, where may be seen many curious and useful things. Flax Culture in Central Ohio. — The peo- ple of Central Ohio are preparing to raise a large quantity of flax the comnig season. It is said the present' ])rice of flax seed will fully reimburse for the whole labor and cost of raising a crop of flax ; and with a vast amount of land in the state unoc- cupied by anv other crop, ])robabiy the jiouple can- ' not m any otiier way better improve their time. 8$ NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March CULTUBB OF GHICCOKY, A correspondent at Salem inquires if we can give him an}' information regarding the cultivation of chiccory. The ])lant is not an uncommon one in Massachusetts, is a coarse and rather showy one, with large, blue flowers, or sometimes pur- plish— and not unfrequently white. It has a large root, frequently penetrating so deep into the ground, that the strength of one man is not suf- ficient to pull it up. It is getting established on the sides of some of the railroad tracks near Bos- ton, and in some fields twenty miles out, where it is found almost impossible to eradicate it. Dar- lington says "It is justly regarded as an objection- able weed that ought to be expelled from our pas- tures." It is recommended by some European ag- riculturists as a good forage plant — but it seems to us altogether too coarse and strong for that purpose — and especially as the leaves give a bad taste to the milk of the cows Avhich eat them. The plant blossoms in August and September, and in its natural state, the stem rises from one to three feet in height ; under cultivation it would proba- bly reach twice that height. The root is fleshy and milky, and when sliced and pressed, yields a juice Avhich is slightly tonic. When used as a substitute for cofl"ee, they should be cleaned, then put into an oven after the bread has been taken out, and allowed to remain until cool. From the tenacity with which it clings to our soil we should judge that the same soil and cultivation which would bring forty bushels of corn per acre, would bring an enormous crop of chiccory. It grows rapidly and luxuriantly, and though cut down four or five times each summer, for four summers in succession, it still flourishes in one of our fields. Von Thaer, in his Principles of Agri- culture, asserts that it is extremely difficult to eradicate from the land, and has been found ma- terially to impoverish the soil. From our own experience with it, we believe Von Thaer is right. The plant is known in some places by the name of Succory, as well as chiccory. IMPORTANT GUANO EEPORTS. Recent analysis by Dr. James B. Chilton and others has shown that the immense deposits of guano belonging to the New York Guano Com- pany are true bird guano, and entirely superior in quality to the various mineral guanos, which have been industriously forced in this and other mar- kets. The quantity is large, and can be shipped at very low cost as compared with guano from the Pacific coast. Dr. Joiixsox remarked that a habit of looking on the best side of every event, is better than a thousand pounds a year. That was true philoso- phy. When Fenelon's library was on fire, " God be praised," he exclaimed, " that it is not the dwell- ing of some ))oor man." For the JVew England Farmer, AN ERROR CORRECTED. Mt Dear Sir : — In the Neiv England Farmer of December 20, 1862, in an article on "Agricul- ture in Common Schools," or what the author claims as such, and over the signature of " John GoLDSBURY," I find a sentence as follows : " But to the point at issue. For more than twenty years, Mr. Bacon claims to have been an advocate for introducing the study of agriculture into common schools. And yet, strange to say, in all this time, he has never seen fit to open his mouth on the subject, but has been as silent as a mouse in a cheese." That I am the individual alluded to in the above remarks, seems to be a fact placed beyond all doubt, for, in the earlier part of his article, the writer gives, in full, my name and place of resi- dence. It is not for the purpose of replying to him, that I introduce the subject at this time, but to show the public how far truth will sustain him in liis as- sertions. I therefore repeat, that I have, for twenty years, been the advocate of introducing agriculture, by which I mean the sciences connected with agricul- ture, into common schools. I introduced the sub- ject in 1840, by a series of articles on the sciences which I held it important for the farmer to study, and within the intervening period, I have pub- lished articles on the same subject, in different pa- pers, and in favor of introducing them into com- mon schools. I refer the reader as follows : In the Monthly Neio England Farmer for June, 1859, Vol. 11, No. 6, pp. 270-71, I have an article on " How plants grow," and in my feeble way, recom- mend it as a suitable study to introduce in com- mon schools. Raising plants is an agricultural employment, and how to make them grow is an agricultural achievement. In the New Eiigland Farmer of March, 1860, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 121-22, I have an article on " Agricultural Education," in which I advocate it as worthy of a part of our common school course of study, and name suitable books to be used for the purpose. In the New England Farmer ior January, 1862, Vol. 14, No. 1, pp. 18-19, I am again guilty of an article favoring the introduction of agriculture or the sciences connected with it, into common schools, and recommend among other books, the " Manual of Agriculture," by Messrs. Emerson and Flint, as valuable for this subject. I might cite other instances, where I have, through the press, shown myself in favor of intro- ducing those branches connected with agriculture into common schools, but I think the above suf- ficient. The writer says, " And yet, strange to say, in all this time, [twenty years, I suppose,] he has not seen fit to open his mouth on the subject, but has been as silent as a mouse in a cheese." Now. it so hap])ens, that I have never, to my knowledge, seen Mr. John Goldsbury, and I pre- sume he has never seen me. How, then, does he know upon what subjects, and how frequently up- on any subject I have opened my mouth in the last twenty years. And not knowing, how does he have the assurance to make so positive an as- sertion? William Bacon. nirlimnnd. Jan. 8. 1863. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FAR\rER. 89 AGBICULTUBAL COIiIiEQE OF PENN- SYLVANIA. We have before us a pamphlet of 76 pages, giving the origin, rise and progress of the Agri- cultural College of Pennsylvania ; with a state- ment of its present condition, aims, and prospects, course of instruction, facilities for study, terms of admission, &c. The college is located in Centre county, Pennsylvania, and its object is " to associ- ate a high degree of intelligence with the practice of Agriculture and the industrial arts, and to seek to make use of this intelligence in developing the agricultural and industrial resources of the coun- try, and protecting its interests." The course of studies will include mathematics, natural philoso- phy, chemistry, botany, geology and paleontology, mineralogy and crystallography and practical ag- riculture and horticulture. Those persons who are desirous of sending their sons to a school of this character, may now have an opportunity. Address Evan Pucn, President of Agricultural College, Centre county, Pennsyl- vania. AMEKICAN POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. This Society has just issued a catalogue of Fruits for cultivation in the United States and Canadas. The work is in two divisions, — the fii'st embracing those States lying north of the south- ern line of Virginia, Tennessee, INIissouri, &c., and east of the Rocky Mountains, including the Cana- das. The second embraces the States south of the line above named, and west of the Rocky Mountains. This catalogue was completed under the direc- tion of the Society, from the reports of State and District committees, and is intended to exhibit in a form convenient for reference, the varieties of fruits best adapted to the different States, and localities, and subject to revision and correction, as expei'ience may render necessary and proper. The committee who have gone through with this tedious and important labor are Messrs. P. Barry, J. S. Cabot, J. A. Warder, Charles Downing, C. M. Hovey, Wm. Reed, and ex of- ficio, Marshall P. Wilder. The list of fruits noticed comprises apples, pears, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, quin- ces, native and foreign grapes, currants, goose- berries, raspberries, blackberries and strawber- ries. A table of mean temperatures is also given. The arrangement of the work is judicious, and the varieties mentioned as acceptable as can be expected. The committee have not attempted to give descriptions of the fruits recommended, but simply to indicate the season of maturity, use, and a few other particulars of importance. The work is a credit to the Society, and an honor to the countrv. ORCHARD CULTURE. Orchard culture, like that of other crops, must be brought to meet circumstances. Different soils, locations, and climates call for var}ing pro- cesses, so that few general rules can be adopted, to caiTy out with assurances of success. Of these, we consider a preparation of soil before trans- planting, as of the greatest importance. Some soils are naturally deep and o])en. Where this is not the case, they should be made so before the tree is placed in them ; for no tree will flourish for any length of time in a thin or compact soil. It is labor lost to place them there, either in ex- pectation that they will flourish in the ground as it is, or in the hope that after culture will remedy the deficiencies. The last cannot be done, for every inch of soil needs a thorough pulverization, which can not be effected under the roots when they have once been put in place. In planting trees of any kind, especially fruit trees, we would say, then, prepare the land before- hand ; that is, if the soil is not naturally deep, make it so by deep tillage ; if not fine, reduce it, no matter how fine. If not so dry that water will not settle and stand under the trees, drain it ; if it requires manure, apply it according to the ne- cessity of the case in previous tillage ; in short, bring the land into that high state of cultivation, which is necessary to the successful growth of any other crop. The trees may be put into it, if they are healthy trees, well taken up and well replant- ed, with a fair prospect of success. Where trees are overfed, the branches too often grow so late in autumn that it is impossible for the wood to ripen, and winter cuts it down as though it were an herbaceous plant. Not so with the trees that nature plants and that grow under her maturing and protecting care. She gives them a needful supi)ly of food to answer the pur- poses of a healthful growth, and causes them to ripen their wood in full preparation for frosts and storms. Her teachings are worthy of the careful consideration of those who would be successful like her. Again, nature, when she plants trees, does not disturb their roots with plow or spade. In her forests, she keeps the ground around them in a light, porous condition by the top dressing she gives them. In autuniTi the leaves of forest trees fall from their branches to cover and protect the roots from the inclement season that awaits them, and in the coming sj)ring these leaves commence to decay to keep the earth light beneath them, so that the tender roots may push around to gather food and give stability to the tree. Thev also form a fine, healthy manure, which of itself fur- nishes the aliment of future tree growth. How far it is expedient to follow nature, others must decide to suit themselves. We have imitat- ed her in furnishing the elements of growth to a few fruit trees, and are so well pleased with the result, that for our own practice, we consider it the best. In other localities, however, it may not be so. Cultivators must decide this matter for themselves. An experiment with a few trees can do no harm, and it will settle the question. So, then, we have come to the conclusion that the true way for us to raise healthy and long-lived fruit trees is first to prepare the land thoroughly by draining if necessary, and then by a deep and very thorough tillage before the trees are set; 90 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March then obtain good trees, and see that they are well set ; and after the trees are once located in this well-prepared soil, we would keep it in its fine, light condition by as frequent top dressings as were necessary to secure the result. Composts are better than yard or stable ma- nures for fruit trees, and there is no decaying sub- stance on the farm that cannot safely be employed in the compost heap. Leaves and muck may form the basis of the heap, and all the odds and ends of the premises may be thrown in to hasten their decay and produce then- immediate value. Ashes, whether leached or not, slops, brine, every thing almost thrown upon the heap, prevents waste and make the compound more valuable. Richmond, Mass. William Bacon, Horticulturist. Remarks. — In condensing for our reduced sheet, we have used only the leading points of Mr. Bacon's article — sufficient, however, to guide any inexperienced person in the planting and cul- ture of trees. THE HOP CROP. The Lispector General reports the amount in- spected during the year 1862, at 394 bales, or 76,- 823 lbs., growth of 1861 ; 1,116 bales, or 214,671 lbs., growth of 1862— total 1,520 bales, or 291,494 lbs. The inspector says : The growth and quality of hops in 1862 was very good. Prices opened at ten cents per lb. At that time no prospect of an export demand. The duty on American was taken off the first of Sep- tember, consequently our hops can go to England free ; at the same time the excise duty on English was removed. In justice, I think, the United States should remove the duty on English, al- though but few English ever come to this market. The diff"erence in exchange, with other reasons, has caused quite an excitement in the market, so much so, that prices have advanced to 18 cents per lb. ; at Avhich price England will probably take our surplus. To date we have exported about 30,000 bales of the growth of 1862. The Census Report of 1860 gives the quantity of hops grown in the United States at different periods : In 1840 1,238,502 pounds. 1850 3,496,950 do 1860 10,675,704 do In 1860, the State of New York grew 9,650,150 lbs. ; taking this quantity from 10,675,704 lbs., leaves but 1,025,554 lbs. for all the other States. Of this amount, Vermont grew 631,641 lbs. ; Massachusetts, 111,301 lbs.; Maine, 102,998 lbs. ; New Hampshire, 130,428 lbs. Human Toil. — The sentence of toil and the promise of glory have issued from the same throne. Even our troubles here may make the material of enjoyments above the circumscription of the earth. All are agents in the restorative mercy of the great Disposer ; all turn into discipline. The obstacles to knowledge, the struggles of the heart, the thousand roughnesses of the common path of man, are converted into the muscular force of the mind. We are but sowing, in the winter of our nature, the seed which shall flourish m immortality. — Dr. Croly. For the Neio England Farmer. EXPERIMENTS IW FEEDING HOGS. Mr. Editor: — Your correspondent of Parsons- field, Me., who noticed my remarks in a late Farm ■■ er, seems to get his mind pretty much on potatoes ; but, cooked or uncooked, ten chances to one if he does not mix in meal to make them acceptable to his hogs. My opinion is, that potatoes are not used near as much as formerly for feeding swine. It has been estimated, by some, that for feeding, five bushels potatoes (some say four) are equal to one of corn. As potatoes are now from 50 to 60 cents, and corn less than a dollar per bushel, po- tatoes must be the dearest kind of feed. The idea of Lamprey and others, I suppose, is this : that in the autumn months, and first of winter, a great quantity of barley and corn meal is fed out to fat- ten swine. Mush may satisfy at first, but Major Smith told the whole story, for when he ate mush and milk he wanted the distance short between him and the bed ! Swine will eat more of the uncooked meal, will be longer satisfied, and will lie down and grunt and grow imtil next feeding- time. It will stick by the ribs, as the wood- choppers say of pork and beans. The writer, of Randolph, in the last Farmer, in favor of cooking, tells us of the hog of 400 pounds, and what Mr. Ellsworth says about cooking. I find Mr. Ellsworth says a good many things, among which are, that swine will thi-ive on ground cobs alone, and that it takes 3^ pounds of meal to make a pound of pork. According to that, the 400-pound hog has eaten 1400 pounds of meal; 28 bushels, at 70 cents, is equal to $19,60. A gen- tlemen, of Walpole, in the same paper, fed his hog up to 300 pounds, in November, on raw apples and pumpkins. Last fall, when meal was 70 cents, apples were 5 cents per bushel, pumpkins perhaps $3 per cartful. At that price the $19,60 above would buy 212 bushels of apples and S caitfuls of pumpkins to make the hog of 400 weight. Ellsworth wrote in 1847. In 1851, P. 0. re- ports, C. H. Pond, Ct., writes : — Generally corn is fed raw ; B. A. Copp, Ct., in same, ■mrites — It will not pay even to get corn ground ; J. J. Thomas, N. Y. — Hogs are finished ofl" by a month's feed of corn in the ear ; H. B. Jones, Va. — It is generally fed on the cob in this way. I am of opinion it makes the finest and best pork ; J. H. Eubank, Tenn. — It is generally fed whole and raw ; J. B. LarM'ill, Ohio — Corn is generally fed raw ; E. Burn- ham, Ohio — It will not do, to either grind or cook ; Mr. Trowbridge, Mich. — I feed corn whole and raw ; Mr. Raymond, Mich — We generally feed in the ear ; Mr. Harlan, Ind. — We feed Avhole ; Mr. Bunnell, Ind. — Fattens his hogs with corn in the ear ; Elihu Hall, 111. — Corn is fed whole and raw, to every species of stock. This is the cheapest and most profitable plan. Three pounds of corn, with this treatment, will make a pound of pork ; Mr. McCready, Iowa — Corn is fed raw. Thus it will be seen the practice of the country is in feeding corn uncooked. And if we take the statements of Mr. Hall, the practice is correct. Joseph W. Brown. Kensington, N. H., Jan. 19, 1863. The Wool Crop of Michigan. — The wool crop of Michigan for the year 1863 is estimated at 5,500,000 pounds. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 91 EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. HOW TO BOIL POTATOr.S. I have always supposed that the potatoes on our dinner table could scarcely be improved, but it seems on referring to last week's Farmer, that I was entirely mistaken ; they must be " waxy and unpalatable," for they are always pe«led before boiling. After consid- erable experience with " help," I feel sure that if " the humble peasants in Ireland" know how to "boil po- tatoes to perfection," it certainly becomes one of the lost arts to them before they reach this country. I will give you my method of cooking potatoes, by which they are daily brought on to the table very white, very mealy, and very hot, which last cannot be the case if they arc peeled after boiling. Pare tliem, and cut the larger ones in halves, in order to have them as nearly as possible of equal size. Let them stand for half an hour in cold water, then put them into the kettle with boiling water, and set them ■where they will boil as hard as possible for twenty min- utes, or till they are thoroughly done ; then turn otl' all the water, sprinkle a little salt over them, and give the kettle a vigorous shake, and let it stand on the stone uncovered till the rest of your dinner is on the table ; pour them into a dish, and they are, indeed, " a guid sight for sair een." Kate. Concord, Jun., 1863. CORX FODDER IN THE FALL. I think every farmer would do well to sow a piece of ground ■(vith corn, not for fodder in the winter, but to feed out in the summer and fall. On a small piece, moderately rich, a large quantity of corn fodder can be raised, requiring little care, and a very small ex- pense. This, fed to cattle in times of drought, and when the feed begins to get short in the fall, will keep them in good order, and if fed to milk cows will in- crease their flow of milk. It will prevent the necessity of turning stock into our mowings. I think most farmers neglect their stock in the fall ; the feed gets short, the cattle have no extra feed, and rapidly lose flesh; this flesh the animal does not replace all winter, unless receiving extra food, and, consequently, incur- ring unnecessary expense. Is it not more economical, then, to fodder more in the fall than most of us do ? How can this be done cheaper than with corn fodder ? What is the price of Whittcmore's Root Cutter ? Hanover, N. H., Jan., 1863. Aluert Pinneo. Remarks. — We believe it is $9,00. Our corres- pondent from Piermont, N. H., will please observe this. DISEASED SHEEP. Mr. French, of Sutton, N. H., inquires for a remedy for the sore mouth which is troubling his sheep. 1 would say that I had it to a considerable extent in my flock a few years since, and I cured it by applying tar. Others, of my neighbors, have cured in the same way. Chelsea, Vt., Jan., 1863. C. N. Andrews. M'OOD WAX. What is the best way to eradicate this plant from our pastures ? This is an important question to the far- mer of Essex county. 13. Drinkavater. Salem, Jan., 18G3. Remarks. — We have often conversed with some of the people of Essex county with regard to this pest, but never found one who had anj' definite opinions as to how it could be exterminated short of plowing and cultivating. AVill some one enlighten our correspond- ent ? _ A FIXE LEICESTER HOG. As I see you are giving the weights of pigs, or hogs, I forward to you the weight of a Leicester pig I bought of Peter W. Jones, of this town. He was slaughtered Jan. Sth, 18(i3, at nine months, two days old, and weighed 490 lbs. The keeping was, first six months, milk and raw potatoes ; since that time, the addition of meal, what he would eat. I have tried other breeds, but never have made pork so easily as from the present pig of the Leicester blood, and as cheap on the same keeping. Geokoe Kent, Deaf and Dumb. Amherst, Jan., 1863. profits from fowls. Being a reader and a well-wisher to the Farmer, and you having kindly published my account of 1860-61, of profit and loss of poultry raising, I now enclose you the account of 1862. 1 think three years' account will be sufficient to convince any one that there is profit in raising poultry, if taken care of. STOCK, JANUARY 1, 18C2. 32 fowls and 11 ducks $21,20 39 bushels of coru 27,10 18 bushels of oats 9,35 l.iO pounds siftinirs , i,.^o 470 pounds scraps, at lie ^ pound 7,05 CI.IU1 shells .' 25 Meal and shorts 4,00 39 dozen esiEs, at 2.5c #" dozen 9',75 Interest on g^JljOO J ,29 50 chickens died 6,00 6 ducks died 1,00 $90,79 Balance 69,40 $180,19 STOCK, JANUARY 1, 1863. 24 fowls and 11 ducks , $17,50 17t) dozen epgs sold 44,13 119 liens and chickens 52,88 33 ducks sold 19,70 I'k barrels manure 15,75 12'chickens, $3,00—10 ducks, $7,08 10,f;e 97 dozen and 9 eggs, at 20c ^ dozen, eaten in the family 19,50 $180,19 There were 262 dozen and 3 hens' eggs, and 50 dozen and 6 ducks' eggs laid ; and 173 chickens, and 49 ducks hatched. Salem, Jan., 1863. James Buffington. sweet APPLES to FAT HOGS. One of my neighbors killed a pig the third of De- cember, nine months, six days old, which weighed 346 pounds. It was fed as follows : L'ntil apples began to fall, the pig was fed with slops and milk — no meal at all. After apples were large enough they were fed, cooked and raw, and were so relished by the pig that it wasn't necessary to give but a little meal. The pig was fed wholly by a farmer's daughter. Daughters can tend and feed pigs, if they have plenty of sweet apples. T. s. f. Reading, Jan., 1863. CORN MUFFINS. I send you a receipt for corn muffins which my fam- ily think delicious. Two cups Indian meal ; two cups flour ; two eggs ; one pint of milk ; two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar ; one teaspoonful soda ; piece of butter the size of an egg, melted. Mix thoroughly and bake in muffin-rings on a hot griddle, turning them so as to brown both sides. C. H. Pratt. Concord, Jan., 1863. Glue for Ready Use. — To any quantity of glue use common whiskey, instead of water. Put both together in a bottle, cork it tight, and set it away for three or four davs, when it will be fit for use without the ap])lication of heat. Glue thus prepared will keep for years, and is at ;J1 times fit for use, except in very cold weather, when it should be set in warm water before using. To ob- viate the difficulty of the stojjper getting tight by the glue drying in the mouth of the vessel, use a tin vessel with the cover fitting tight on the out- side, to prevent the escape of the spirit by evapo- ration. A strong solution of isinglass, made in the same manner, is a very excellent cement for leather. 92 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March For the Neio England Farmer, A KULE FOR REDUCING CHAINS, RODS AND LINKS TO FEET. Mr. Brown : — I have been occasionally re- quested to give a table, for the purpose indicated above ; and therefore send the following, for the benefit of your readers : — Chains. Feet. Mods. Feet. Links. Feet. 1 66. 1 16.5 1 .66 2 132. 2 33. 2 1.32 3 198. 3 49.5 3 1.98 4 264. 4 66. 4 2.e4 5 330. 5 82.5 5 3.30 6 396. 6 99. 6 3.96 7 462. 7 115.5 7 4.62 8 528. 8 139. 8 5.28 9 594. 9 148.5 9 5.04 10 660. 10 165. 10 6.60 To find the number of feet in 10 chains requires only the addition of a cypher to the right of the number of feet in one chain ; or, in other words, moving the decimal point one place to the right, and so on. Now, for example, let us find the number of feet in 86 chains, 3 rods and 24 links : FROM THE TABLE. 8 chains, equal to 528 feet — 80 chains therefore. . .5280. feet. 6 " " 396. " 3 rods 49.5 " 2 links, equal to 1.32 feet— 20 links tJierefore 13.2 " 4 " " 2.64 " 86 chains, 3 rods and 24 links 5741.34 feet. There are 5280 feet in one mile. J. H. s. Boston, Jan. 3, 1863. For the New England Farmer. THAT PIG, AND CATTLE. Mr. Editor: — Since I wrote the article in relation to a diseased pig, I will add further re- specting the post mortem of that patient. I kept the body a few days after it was slaughtered, to note progress. The third day after it was killed, the fat part of the body had a bluish tinge, though you would have to look closely to see the appear- ance, except on the leaves, as they are called ; on these the color was bluish green, and more dis- tinctly marked, as though incipient putrefaction had commenced, and the whole body had a faint, unpleasant smell. The second day after the gut fat was removed, it had the look of mouldy cheese, and bad at that, some parts of it being much more affected than others. The butcher's Mife — who removed the gut fat while yet warm — says the guts had a peculiar smell ; " never smelt any- thing like it before," though in all other respects, she could not have told it from others which she had removed the same day. I had three other hogs killed the same day, by the same man, and from the same pen, this patient being the first sick one of the kind I ever had, and I have kept swine for twenty-two years. The muscular parts were pale and softer than natural. The body was removed to Dorchester to advance the interests of soap. Please give us the diagiwsis of this case ? The prognosis is certain death within four weeks. Mr. Fitts wishes for information in regard to a disorder which has attacked his cattle. I will add to the editor's remarks relating to his cases. Eatiny hoards. — I have no doubt in this case of the nature, or rather the cure of the patients. The cattle may need absorbents. Will Mr. Fitts please try them. Give, in the first place, pui'e wood ashes — sprinkled sparingly on wet hay — or made into a mash with shorts or a small quantity of meal, should they refuse the hay ; repeat this every third day, for two weeks, and feed regularly good sweet hay, and allow plenty of pure, soft water. Should this fail, try burnt bones, pounded fine, in the same way ; and should these fail, I would dissolve a tablespoonful of carbonate of soda in a pail full of water, and give to each pa- tient daily, for one week, and then stop it for another week, and resume again. So on, for a month, during the time allowing plenty of good, sweet hay. Cattle will never eat boards, unless diseased, if they can get plenty of good food and water, and such they should always have. King Oak Hill, Jan., 1863. N. Q. T. For the Neio England Farmer. THE YELLOW LOCUST. Many years ago, I transplanted two small trees of the yellow locust. At that time, it was thought almost impossible to raise them, on account of the depredations of a borer, which almost invariably attacked them, in the early stages of their growth, and wherever an attack was commenced, the young tree was sure to be bored off. My trees were besieged by this foe, like those of others, but a resolution to kill or cure, enabled me to save them. The course I pursued with the rebels against my fine young trees, was to give them a warm ablution, by pouring boiling water from the spout of a tea-kettle into their holes, and all over the trunk of the trees. The remedy was ample ; I have never seen any of the borers work upon them since, except in a few instances a twig from an outside branch was taken off. It forms a beautiful shade tree. Its form is symmetrical, its foliage rich and delicate, and its profusion of white blossoms in contrast with its rich, green leaves gives it a beautiful appearance in their season, and at the same time, they agreea- bly perfume the air with their fragrance. The only objection to its introduction in the park, or by the way-side, is its tendency to throw up suck- ers from the roots. As a timber tree, its qualities are not sufficiently generally known to be appreciated. It is said to possess strength, more nearly allied to that of iron than any other wood. Ship-builders acknowl- edge its worth, and use all they can obtain of it, even to its branches, which are useful for pin- timber. For fence posts its durability is placed beside that of cedar. It is one of the best, if not the very best material to manufacture into the handles of tools, such as awl hafts, auger handles, &c., is easily turned into the desired shapes, and is not liable to split by use. Indeed, if its value was fully known in the arts, we know not when it would become valueless. The tree possesses great constitutional hardi- ness, and will adapt itself to almost any soil. For the steep hill-sides and rocky places in the coun- try, it is admirably adapted. Where a few trees are set in these places, from the sprouts shooting up from the roots, they will, in a h\f years, sliow a young forest. In setting for the hill-side, how- ever, the plantation should commence on the low- er part, as the tendency of the roots is to turn up hill. The grass that grows under these trees is sweet, and eagerly sought after by cattle, and the quantity of it is often increased under the shade of the tree. The small branches are armed with 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 93 spines, which prevent cattle from browsing upon them. Pruning, if too closely given, injures them, as such trees are more subject to attacks from borers. It is an object for all who have lands too rough for tillage, or who wish to increase the quantity of their wood and timber lands, to enter into its culture, as the tree readily takes care of itself and comes earlier to maturity than any of the trees of our forests, and, what is no mean consideration, a grove of it may be chopped over at any season, and will readily renew itself. Richmond, Jan., 1863. Wm. Bacon. THE "WINTEK SNO"W. Wint«r comes on in the right shape, giving the earth a good blanket of heavy snow, coming in the mud, which, according to the weather mon- gers, means that it has come to stay. The storm of the ;30th of December, was a powerful and far- reaching one, and if the sign does not fail, will afford a good protection to the juvenile wheat plants, which stood very much in need of such motherly attention. Snow is a great blessing in its season, and we think the excellent compilers of the prayer book should have framed a petition for this purpose to be placed along side of that which the church is accustomed to use for rain. — Ohio Farmer. Remarks. — In the region of Boston there has been but little snow. The weather has been very changeable — rain, sunshine, hail, then warm and foggy, snow, slosh and mud, alternating, and each striving for the mastery. We almost wish for a stiff " nor'-easter," a foot of snow, jingling of bells, and the merry laugh of the sleigh-riding boys and Save your Fodder. — Some persons can earn plenty of money, but have a poor faculty of sav- ing it, and so it is with farmers, in regard to sav- ing fodder. On some farms where a large amount of fodder is harvested, there is a great want of true economy in feeding it out. It is not only in feeding too profusely at one time, and too spar- ingly at another, but much is involve205 90. This will well repay the grower. None of the transactions of the year 1862, that have come to our hands, equal this in the value of its reports, with, perhaps, the exception of those of Essex county. The oflBcers elected for 1862-3, are as follows : Ephraim W. Bull, of Concord, President ; Winthrop W. Chenery, of Belmont, Asa Clem- ent, of Dracut, Vice Presidents ; John B. Moobe, of Concord, Secretary ; Richard Barrett, of Concord, Treasurer. FITCHBUHQ RATT.FvOAD. AVe have, of late, received several inquiries in regard to the statute law, or laws, in relation to the fences on the line of this road. The ques- tion at issue, seems to be, " AYho is legally bound to make and keep the fences in repair on each side of the track?" A letter from a correspondent, on another page, we believe states the facts in the case — ^which letter please read. It appears that railroads constructed before the year 1846 are not under obligation to make and keep in repair the fences on their sides. In the case of Moses Stea7'ns vs. the Old Colony and Fall Biv- er Railroad Company, it was stated by Judge Chapm.\n, we think, that " the statute of 1846, chapter 271, requiring railroad corporations to erect and maintain fences upon both sides of any railroad which they might thereafter construct, does not apply to a railroad which was located and partially constructed at the time of its passage. " A railroad company, which is not bound to erect and maintain a fence, is not liable in dama- 1863. XEW ENGLAND F.\IIMER. 95 ges, if a cow, feeding in an adjacent pasture, es- capes through a defect in the fence, and is run over and killed by the cars, •without proof of due care on the part of the owner to prevent such an escape." For the Xew England Farmer. liZFE OP ASA Q. SHELDON. Mr. Sheldon, the Wilmington Farmer, SiS he is called, is widely known, not only by his brother farmers, but by merchants, lawyers, mechanics, railroad contractors, bridge builders, &c. He has been engaged in almost all kinds of business that directly produce permanent prosperity, wealth and power. He has always been eminently prac- tical in whatever he has said or done ; and what is infinitely more to his credit, his words and his acts have sprung from a pure desire to benefit his kind — to make the world better and happier for his having lived in it. What mortal man can do more I "We have before us a sketch of his life, prepared by himself, which is filled with its every day inci- dents, including accounts of many of his business transactions of a public nature, family incidents, agricultural operations, anecdotes and amusing stories. It is also full of sensible facts and sug- gestions, and aU told in the very vein and humor of Asa G. Sheldox, and nobody else. It is a better book, by far, to go into the hands of young people, than the life of Amos Lawrence, because that excellent, but mistaken man, sacrificed every thing but honor to business — health, happiness, social relations, and that culture of the mind and soul without which all else is naught. Mr. Sheldon's life has been emphatically a use- ful one — useful to himself, as well as the world, for at the age of seventy-five, he is as sound as a rock, with a mind as elastic and cheerful as that of a girl of eighteen ! While preparing this notice, we received the following from our old friend and correspondent, Dr. Silas Brown, a townsman of Mr. S. He says, " Mr. Sheldon belongs to a class of men who ■will think for themselves. No one will have the presumption to accuse him of plagiarism. His book is replete with valuable and useful hints on various subjects, it is a practical work and shows him to have been a critical observer of men and things, and is to be the more esteemed for its hav- ing been written on a plan peculiar to himself. If there is a manifestation of self-esteem, let it be considered that a man must esteem himself, be- fore he can have confidence to venture to gain the esteem of others. His age is his evidence of ex- perience." We shall be happy to transfer some of his pages to our columns at a future time, when they are less crowded. YOKES. Mr. Editor : — Hoping the burdens of the ox may be made lighter and his value enhanced to his owner, I desire to communicate to the readers of your paper my convictions and experience on yokes. It has been my painful conviction that oxen ex- ercise their muscular strength, and tax their noble powers to a great disadvantage. There is a fear- ful waste of muscular exertion to the ox. and a consequent loss to its owner in the use of improp- ^ er yokes and bows. Owners of working oxen, m : the majority of cases, I believe, pay indifferent at- 1 tention to the shape of their yokes and bows. I The bulk of farmers, in many places, subject their oxen to enormous outlays of strength, in the use of too straight yokes. Iii the use of a straight yoke, the ox is obliged to awkwardly exert the mus- cles of the upper part of the shoulders and chest to the exclusion of the use of the powers that lie at the base of the chest and neck, llie weight or load attached, is too high. A yoke that is deep ' through the staple holes and crooked, brings the load doirn to the power of the ox. By bringing the load down to the middle of the neck, which is done by a crooked yoke, the yoke firmly rests on , the heaviest part of the neck, and as the ox , straightens his legs in moving, the incalculable ' power of the strong muscles of the middle part of the shoulders and the lower part of the chest i are f7i';vd/y applied to the yoke, and the load moves. I In the use of the crooked yoke, the fulcrum is I brought near the weight, and in the use of the ■ straight yoke, the fulcrum is removed further from ' the weight. i As regards the bows worked on oxen, I have known them so tight on the upper portion of the neck as to inflict injuries on the ear and neck, in the act of backing, or holding a load down hill. Let your bow holes be eight and a half inches apart, for good sized oxen, and the yoke wide in I the neck, then the bows will slip by the ears, and the yoke strike the bonis, and then the ox will j hold his load easily and willingly. As a general rule, make bows the shape of an eg^. Quid Nirxc. 1 Film on a Horse's Eye. — A correspondent of ' the Country Gent, says : " About three months since I discovered a serious film on the eye of a mare belonging to me, which made the eye totally ■ blind. I was advised to tr\- different remedies by 1 different persons — the first was to put in burnt I alum powdered, twice a day for several days. This had no beneficial effect, but rather the con- ■ trary. I then tried bathing with cold water three times a day, taking the water directly from the well. In a week or ten days it began to get bet- I ter : in two months the sight was restored, appar- ' ently as well as the other. Blistered Hands and Feet. — As a remedy apainst blistering of hands in rowing or fi'shinu. ice, or of feet in'walking. the quickest is, lighting a tallow candle and letting the tallow drop into '' cold water, (to purify it, it is said, from salt,) then ' rubbing the tallow "on the hands or feet — mixed with brandy or any other strong spirits. For mere tenderness, nothing is better than the above, 1 or vinegar a little diluted with water. 96 NEW EXGLAXD FARMER >rARCH PIGS— DI£ILi.5Z. Mb.£sito&: — ^I ■•isii to cill :'-e arr^zdon of the leaders of tlie Sev iT...": , f i^r-i-i-.r to a pecailiar disease whicli afflici* pig's from ".^.c tiiiie they are two months old. to say six ir;n:Ls ;: ag^e. I have never seer. *-^ '-r->e aT:i;k i i ^r •which ■would weigh tv ;r rs^: :i_zirri and fifty pounds. On Sundav m : : : _ from ;: _ ' - ago. :, rryiiLg tc r .. and it was ^i::. i:zir :-::- but on doing so wo'iild sit ' : " T Other. On at- t7„ , rrv weak in his :'- -r-- -?d his _ _ ;:- ;-de- ;_;._ . - j-; - __ draw himsei: _::_■ ; :_> :.-t .r^s. In aii other re- spects.-".r V - : 1 ._--- ;-i lively, though there was a " . ;-olor to the skin. I havec::. -.>ease in pigs hefore. anddiougii I. ii^vc iLc]^; s^iiic for more than twenty years, I never had a sick one in my pen until this " -he-ip tr i -^irable ? Some say iron, lead, cr r .' ' ■■^ery way. But will not the iut^ : r.ied for that kind of pipe keep . _ . ; we want water ? Any informatior. v,& luc >j _cv; wiU be rerv acceptable, either bv letter or through '.tf: Farmer. Inuimrgh, Vt., 1863. " S. Stanford. A CROP OF TtTRXIPS. I give you an account of my French turnip patch. It contained ■22A rods of land, aE-". :'! ;" " j.- jo-'-d for was to keep the world toeether. ' what kelp I could draw from the seas':. itter it was dried a little, in the mon:;. . .-u I let it lie till the month of July ; went over -^in a hand rake, and then crossed it off e-s'-h ^':'^. •'^'iviiij the hills 2 feet, 4 inches one " ".fr. allow- ing one pUn: to sta- ■? up ferst rate, and grew well. tneisured up l'>4 bushels of g>iod Qierca..!iU>LA :— --.^js '. South Haiuom, Feb. 2, 1S63, Silas De.vha«. BARIET. I should like to know what k:r - ' ' -" • :* best to raise for market, snd the price " machine for separating one kind of eraiii Sorth Clarendon, Vt. ~ J- >■ HoLDES. Remarks.— There are several varieties of barley, but we know of no one among the number that is es- pecially preferable to others. Where ycu can fend good, plump seed, and the crop was a liberal one, there shomld be no hesitation in using it. The sieves intended for cleaning grain are &«■» S 2.7-5 to S7.00, — the latter including sieves for beans and peas. ONIONS. Will come oo* mftwm mc what the best kind Of onion is to produce a large crop: S- a. «. Laicrenct, 1963. 98 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March For the N'eio England Farmer. QUERIES ABOUT TOP-DBESSING. Hay is a profitable crop in this lumber region, as large demands are made on the farmer for it, to take into the woods to carry on lumber opera- tions. I have thirty acres improved land, which has all been laid down to gi'ass within three years, and now yields on an average one ton of good Northern clover and herdsgrass per acre. I am wintering one hundred and twelve sheep, one horse and three cows. Now, Mr. Editor, I wish to manage this piece of land, which is a light sandy loam, free from rocks and stumps, and smooth as your lovely Com- mon, and its gently undulating surface — almost a J'ac simile — so as to reap the richest harvest pos- sible with the least expense, and just as you would manage your paper, or any professional man his business, expecting to be rewarded commensurate with the capital and skill brought to bear in its management. It costs from eight to ten dollars {)er acre to plow, harrow and reseed land. It ooks to me suicidal to destroy the young, healthy grass roots, by turning over this land this coming spring, merely to put under the ground the drop- pings of my stock, and next season to be at the expense of buying grass seed again, which, by droughts, may or may not come up. Your paper advises the top-dressing of grass land after hay- ing, or immediately before the fall rains set in. The query in my mind is, whether it is best to lose the interest of, or use of this amount of ma- nure one season, or to compost it early in May, ■with soil, and spread over this field. My mind is fully made up to use this manure for top-dressing this coming spring, or after haying. Can I add any virtue to this top-dressing by keeping it housed three months, and then applying it, that I could not add before May next ? Will any chem- ical change come over this manure that will pay the loss of interest by applying it after the com- ing hay crop is harvested, that could not be brought about in season for the increase of this year's crop ? There, Mr. Editor, I have read the above, to one of my neighbors, to see what he thinks, and here is his opinion. He would haul out of the bogs which abound hei"e, as many loads of muck as I have other dressing, and compost the muck with lime, and then compost the whole together and spread on the land in the fall. I am not a convert to his plan, and for this analogy : If I have a hundred dollars ready to put to interest, I see no reason why I should wait till I could get another hundred dollars before I invested the first sum. The barnyard compost, I grant, would im- prove the quality of the muck compost ; but the muck comjjost would not improve the barnyard compost only in bulk, and the result would be, if I followed my neighbor's suggestion, that you ■would hear from me, as you now hear from your numerous correspondents extolling muck at the expense of good, old-fashioned, substantial ma- nure— barnyard manure. And the muck would thus have the credit of being found in good com- pany. The town of Greenbush has, I verily believe, one-fourth of its surface covered with boggy land, the muck varying from six inches to sLx feet. The bogs are covered with spruce, hackmetack, or juniper trees, hardback bushes, mosses and cran- berry vines. Now, if I owed my neighbor a mor- tal grudge, I should consider that he was amply punished should I be able to cover his land with this sour, detestable material. He certainly would have sufficient cause for an action in law to recov- er the value of his farm for damages. Not so, however, with muck from swamps or bogs that grow hard wood, such as swamp or river maple, black ash and yellow birch, the leaves of which fall annually, and make a deposit rich in vegeta- ble matter. This muck mania among farmers needs to be better understood before experiments are made on a very extensive scale. Chakles S. Weld. Greenbush, Me., Jan. 30, 1863. Remarks. — Our correspondent ■writes loith a will, as though his heart were in his work. We like it. The advice of your " neighbor " is just what we should give, if the muck were old and fine, for it is probably just what your " sandy loam land " needs. But if the muck is not tempered by age, suns, frosts and winds, we would haul out the manure immediately, pile into convenient heaps, and just as fast as the frost would permit overhaul it, throwing it up lightly, and continue to do so, if there Avas a prospect of getting it fine enough to spread upon the land by the first of April. If not, spread it now, and work it down as fine as possible where it lies, before the heavy spring rains fall. There cannot be much loss by evaporation, because no fermentation will take place as long as the manure is cold. For the Xeiv England Farmer, BAILROAD FENCES. Mr. Editor : — I propose to give expression to some ideas upon the above subject, suggested principally by the course pursued by the Fitch- burg Railroad Corporation the past year. This company obtained its charter the 4th of March, 1842, and the road was so far completed in the spring of 1845, as to be opened for the convey- ance of passengers. The land damages were awarded with the un- derstanding that all necessary fences should be built and maintained by the corporation ; and this has been done until the past season, when a cir- cular was sent to the landholders on the line of the road, containing a copy of the 43d and 104th sections of the 63d chapter of the general statutes of this State, and notifying them that henceforth tlmi must make, maintain and keep in repair suit- able fences on their land adjacent to the railroad, or be liable for all damages which may arise from neglecting so to do. Admitting the position assumed by the direc- tors of the Fitchburg Railroad to be lawful, (which some are supposed to doubt,) I suppose it may be a question whether in the end it will prove expe- dient ; for if persons possessing but little proper- ty improve land adjoining the road, and in conse- quence of their neglect to maintain the fence, se- rious accidents shoidd happen and heavy dama- ges arise, the company might be led to entertain the opinion expressed by their first President to one of the farmers in North Leominster, when settling with him for damage. He said they pre- 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 99 feiTed to fence the road themselves, and feel that it was safe and secure, rather than have it done by the landowners, who might not in all cases be re- liable and responsible persons. There are two railroads passing through the town of Leominster, from North to South. The Fitchburg, upon the east side of the Nashua River, and the Fitchburg and Worcester, upon the west side of it. The former was constructed previous to the year 1846, and the latter since that period. But is "this a sufficient reason for obliging the far- mers along the route of one road to fence it, (or sutler the consequences of neglect,) while those upon the other are subject to no expense or re- sponsibility ? But on the other hand if their an- imals happen to trespass upon the road and are injured or destroyed, they can recover reasonable damage for the loss thus sustained. It seems to me the statute which makes so ivide a distinction between two railroads so near togeth- er is, to say the least of it, unjust ; and for one I rejoice that a petition is to be presented to the present Legislature praying for the enactment of a law which shall be more just and equal. As this is a subject in which many farmers must be more or less interested, at least so far as the Talue of a portion of their land is concerned, I hope it will be considered by other and abler cor- respondents. A. c. w. Leominster, Feb., 1863. JFor the Xew England Farmer, CULTUBE OF THE SWEET POTATO. Me. EdiTOR : — Early last spring, I gave you my ideas of the cultivation of the sweet potato in our Northern climate, and promised to give my experience, after a season of experiments. As I stated before, the potatoes or tubers were obtained from Ohio, and immediately placed in a common hot-bed to sprout. They were cut lengthwise, ** each into two pieces," and placed with the cut side down over the surface of the bed, and about tlu-ee inches apart. Two inches of fine soil was then sifted over them ; when the sprouts were about four inches high, they were broken from the potato, the stem being well supplied with fibrous roots. They should be pressed from the pota- to, by keeping the finger of one hand down against the potato, while pressing the root or sprout ofl' with the other. The sprouts were then transplant- ed to the ridges prepared for them, the soil being a sandy loam ; the ridges were prepared by plow- ing a shallow furrow. I then spread into the fur- row a slight dressing of common horse and cow manure, mixed, and threw two heavy furrows to- gether, forming high ridges, four feet apart from centre to centre. 1 then drew a mark with a stick along the centre on the top of the ridge, scatter- ing in a mixture of Coe's phosphate and wood ashes, " about two quarts to a running rod," flat- tening the top of the ridge with a hoe. The plants were set one foot apart upon the ridge. Nothing more was done to them, except to keep the weeds down, until digging in the fall. My lot measured three-fourths of a rod square. I dug Hi bush(^. 13^ bushels were very large and tine, many weign- ing from five to six pounds, and our market-deal- ers pronounced them in size and general appear- ance, far superior to any they had ever raised, " North or South." The quality was excellent, and 13 bushels v.-ere sold for $21 41. The expense of cultivation, manure, &c., was $3 20, yielding a large profit. Being pleased with my experiment, I was deter- mined to keep my seed for next spring planting. I therefore procured four boxes containing about one peck each, and packed them with small pota- toes in dry sand, placing the boxes in diflerent sit- uations ; one was buried four feet deep in the side of a hill, the second was placed in a warm room, the third was put on a shelf in my seed-store, and the fourth was placed in the green-house. Upon examining them, I find the one in the wann room is keeping well, while the others have all decayed, except the one buried, which I have not examined. I think one great requisite is, to have the potatoes dug before they are injured by frost, or by remain- ing in cold soil, after the vines are killed, and cease to keep the tubers in a growing condition. Another very important item, is to have them care- fully handled. I am fully convinced that the Nansemond is the variety of sweet potatoes for our Northern climate ; -it is an old and thorough- ly bred variety, having been cultivated in Virginia and New Jersey for half a century. A very fa- vorable peculiarity of the Nansemond is its being good when comparatively immature — in fact, fit for the table as soon as the tubers obtain size enough to tempt one to dig them. I Avas very much pleased Avith the result of my experiment, and feel confident the sweet potato crop will yet be made a profitable field crop even farther north than Essex county. The slips can be transplant- ed a thousand miles with safety and success. I shall cultivate them largely the coming season, and can spare a few slips to any who may like to try the experiment, at the time of transplanting. Salem, Feb., 1863. J. S. Ives. Remarks. — We have frequently raised the sweet potato with success. The soil should be a sandy loam, in a hot position, and made deep and mellow, and rather rich. Mr. IVEs' favorable re- port will undoubtedly induce many to attempt its culture next spring. We shall be glad to re- ceive slips. Why Salt is Healthful. — From time imme- morial it has been knoAvn that without salt, men would miserably perish ; and among the horrible punishments entailing certain death, that of feed- ing culprits on saltless food is said to have pre- vailed in barbarous times. Maggots and corrup- tion are spoken of by some writers as the distress- ing symptoms which saltless food engenders ; but no ancient or unchemical modern could explain how such suffering arose. Now we know why the animal craves salt, why it suffers discomfort, and why it ultimately falls into disease if salt is for a time withheld. Upward of half the saline matter of the blood — fifty-seven per cent. — consists of common salt ; and as this is partly discharged every day through the skin and kidneys, the ne- cessity of continued supplies of it to the healthy body becomes sufficiently obvious. The bile also contains soda as a special and indispensable con- stituent, and so do all the cartilages of the body. Stint the supply of salt, therefore, and neither will the bile be able properly to assist digestion, nor the cartilages to be built up again as fast as they naturally would waste. — Prof. Johnson. wo NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTUBAL MEET- INGS. The second meeting of a proposed series at the State House took place on Monday evening, Jan- uary 26. Mr. Hubbard, of Sunderland, pre- sided. The question was " Stock Breeding," and the Chairman opened the discussion. He then called on Mr. Secretary Flint, who maintained that different localities required different breeds of cattle. After some remarks by Mr. Flower, of Agawam, Mr. MOSELEY, of Springfield, called attention to the question of breeding, and claimed that the sire or dam should be of pure blood, he preferring the male for this purpose ; Mr. Weth- ERELL, of Boston, agreeing with him on this point. Messrs. Proctor, of Danvers, Hubbard, of Brimfield, and Ke^tdall, of Boylston, spoke in relation to native cattle, good cows, and the man- ner of rearing calves. Mr. Tower, of Lanesborough, spoke of the im- provement of stock in his locality. Thirty years ago he noticed the yield of cheese per cow was about 250 pounds. Some fifteen years ago a short-horn bull was introduced from New York. Great improvement was thus made in the stock of that community. Cows now yield 600 pouj^ds of cheese per year. This could not have been done ■without short-horn blood. Mr. Shorey, of Wayland, and Mr. Quincy, of Boston, also engaged in the discussion. Not many facts were elicited in relation to the important subject of breeding our neat cattle. The third of this series took place Monday, Feb- ruary 9. The subject was, — Sheep and Sheep Husbandry. Dr. Loring, of Salem, presided and opened the discussion. He alluded to the decay of sheep husbandry ; said that large breeds are not adapted to Massachusetts pastures, and said the Merino breed was best for our farms. Mr. Howard, of Dedham, did not agree with him in several of his points. Wool and mutton combined are the objects of keeping sheep. In New York the long wooled sheep have gained on the Merinos because more profitable. Mr. Brown, of Concord, thought the culture of sheep might be made profitable on most of our New England farms. They thrive better when in small numbers. A mixed farming is safer for us than to depend upon a single crop, as a gener- al rule, — but there are exceptions. He did not think one could say what breed of sheep should be selected for all locations. The farmer must observe what success is obtained in localities and on pasturage similar to his own, and then decide what course to take. Mr. Brown thought that where ten head of cattle are kept on a farm, as many sheep can be fed, at a cost but a trifle more than if no sheep were kept. They eat herbage that neat stock refuse, or cannot reach, and their di'oppings greatly enrich pastures upon which they run, if not fed too closely. He illustrated this point by reference to certain cases that had come to his knowledge. Mr. Hubbard, of Sunderland, spoke of a farm- er in Amherst who engaged in sheep husbandry and found it very profitable. Mr. Tower, of Lanesboro', said farmers in Berkshire think that sheep run out their pastures, especially meadows. [No doubt of it, if fed too closely, as is often the case. Ed.] Mr. Flower, of Agawam, deemed grades more profitable than Merinos. Mr. Andrew, of West Roxbury, spoke in fa- vor of long wooled sheep from personal experi- ments with them. Mr. S. M. Allen, 3 Tremont Row, Boston, President of the Fibrilia Felting Company, said that the kind of food and the manner of feeding sheep, had a decided influence upon the quality of the wool. [We have some interesting and valuable facts before us upon this point, which we wUl present to the reader at another time. Ed.] The fourth of this series was held on Monday, February 9, in the Representatives' Hall. Mr. Flower, of Agawam, presided, but declined open- ing the discussion. Mr. Wetiierell, of Bos- ton, was the flrst speaker, and began by introduc- ing a new plough, manufactured by 0. Ames & Son, of this city. Farmers, he said, are begin- ning to see and to feel the necessity of getting rid of the " dead-furrow," or ditch-like hollow left in the centre of a land where the furrows are turned from each other. This has always been regarded as a deformity upon a lawn or meadow, but since the introduction of the mowing-machine, hay-tedder, and horse-rake, it is of special incon- venience. Attention was invited to this plough as peculiarly suited for ploughing sloping surfaces, as for level land. Sanborn's Side-hill or Flat- land Plough, or Sanborn's Turn-twist Plough, as it is preferable to call it, will enable the farmer to till his grounds free from dead-furrows and ridg- es, caused by turning two furrows together, as is constantly done in ploughing lands one or two rods wide, as is the custom with the common plough. With the common plough, the "ofl-ox," or horse, must always travel in the furrow. With the Turn-twist Plough, the "near-ox," or horse, al- ternates or travels in the furrow one-half of the time, thus equalizing the disadvantage. Again, Avhen he leaves off ploughing, all that has been I)loughed lies together. Mr. Wetiierell spoke of Davis' Improved Ketchum's Mowing-Machine, sold last summer for fifty dollars ; he also urged the use of Bullard's 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 101 Hay-Tedder for spreading and turning hay, a ma- chine deemed by some farmers as superior even to the mowing-machine, in case they could have but one. Dr. LoEiNG, of Salem, spoke of the fragile char- acter of farm implements, endorsing what the first speaker said of hay implements. He spoke of the improvement of ploughs and manure-forks, highly commending the inventive genius of Amer- ican mechanics. Mr. Hubbard, of Sunderland, recommended a root-slicer for those who grow and feed roots. He spoke of a hand cultivator, recommending it. Mr. MosEi.EY, of Springfield, spoke of the cost of machinery to a young farmer. He recommend- ed the use of mowing-machines, which can be op- erated by an invalid ; whereas it requires a stur- dy man to swing a scythe. He recommended root-slicers ; also a planting-machine for corn. Mr. Stowell, of Deerfield, spoke of mowing- machines, giving his preference to the Buckeye, which he uses. Mr. Powers, of Phillipston, spoke of Sanborn's Plough, alluded to by the first speaker, and liked it because it obviated the objection hitherto made. He recommended the mowing-machine. He thought farmers were slow to avail themselves of improved machinery and implements. Mr. Smith, of Granby, spoke of the mowing- machine, endorsing Hubbard's as a good one. Mr. Warren, of Auburn, said no improvement had been made in the plough for thirty years. The first plough he ever used was Wright's pa- tent. He would meet any one at a plough-facto- ry and confront him on this subject. He had tried mow'ing-machines, but found none that he could use with advantage ; and besides his help could mow as much by hand as they could take care of. Scythes are no better, nor quite as good as they were twenty years ago. He recommend- ed long-handled shovels. He did not wish to be called an old fogy. He spoke of a rich Worces- ter county farmer, who, on the inventory of his property at his death, had not a hundred dollars' worth of farm implements ; yet he was a good and successful farmer. Mr. Hubbard, of Brimfield, spoke of the ad- vantages that even Mr. Warren, the last speak- er, had derived from the introduction of the mow- ing-machine, as he acknowledged he cleaned ofl" his land for the mower, though he had not bought a machine. He maintained that the plough had been greatly improved. Mr. Bird, of Cambridge, spoke of improved hay-forks and manure-forks, introduced by Mr. Partridge, a well-known manufacturer. Mr. Flower, of Agawam, closed the discus- sion with some remarks on the improvements of the plough, entirely dissenting from Mr. Warren's remarks. Americans, said he, should be proud of their implements and farm machines. He com- mended the Chicopee ploughs as among the best. For the Netc England Farmer, MAPLE SUGAR. Mr. Editor:— In your paper of Januarj- 17, I find an article with the above heading, in which you make some excellent remarks, closing with an article from the pen of Geo. W. Hammond, of New Hampshire. Very likely the above gentle- man is good authority on sugar-making, yet I must confess I was not a little disappointed that after taking us all through the preliminarj- opera- tions, and speaking so highly of the quality of his sugar, he should coolly set away his syrup, and tell us he was not ready to sugar it oft". We usually make about tlie same quantity of sugar that >Ir. Hammond does, and as we have not used milk or eggs to raise the scum for ten years, our process may be of interest. We have a pan and arch expressly for the purpose of su- garing ofF. We take off the syrup, strain it through flannel, and boil it down as soon as possible, then turn into tin or wooden vessels to cool ; the nitre will settle to the bottom. I do not wish sugar-makers to adopt a new method on any one's recommendation, but try the experiment and judge for themselves. My reasons for jirefering the above course are these ; we square up every night, and save much labor. There is no danger of burning ; our milk and eggs are put to better uses, and last, but not least, the quality is superior, as heating and cool- ing, as well as long standing, affect the taste and color of sugar. A pan for sugaring off, will never need scrap- ing, if washed immediately after using, which should never be omitted. There are many other matters connected with sugaring that are of importance. We used to tap with too large an auger, thereby injuring the trees unnecessarily. I believe it has been proved that a one-half inch bit is large enough, as the flow of sap depends more on the depth than size of the hole. Sap and storage tubs should be painted outside and in, not only to preserve them, but to prevent the sap from souring. The best kind of arch I have used is made by putting in cast iron grates to lay the wood on, in such a manner that the coals will fall down through. I would urge sugar-makers to adopt the excel- lent hints of Mr. Hammond with one exception. Calais, Feb., 8, 18G3. A. M. F. A New Canal Project.— The Dutch have set on foot a gigantic work of canal imj)rovenient. It is proposed to construct a ship canal from Am- sterdam through North Holland toward the sea ; to be thirteen miles long, two hundred feet wide and twenty-four feet deep. This canal will short- en the distance from Amsterdam to London, and all ports south of the Texel, by about eighty miles, so that vessels will now be enabled to reach the sea in a few hours, whereas the present journey over the Simlugen and the North Holland canal now occupies several days, and sometimes even weeks. lt)2 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March For the New England Farmer. PLANT ONE ACRE MORE. A suggestion made by a merchant, a few days pince, that we ought to raise all the grain we can, now that we have so many men in the army, has led me to think it would be well to bring the sub- ject before the farming community as widely as possible through our agricultural and other papers. All the productions of the country are tending upward, and, in all probability, will continue to so long as this terrible war we are now engaged in continues. This, of necessity, must be the case, as so many of our farmers and laboring men are withdrawn from producing the necessaries of life. The pork and beef market will not feel the effects of this state of things as soon as other farm pro- ducts, as Western farmers, in the absence of labor, turn their cattle into their corn fields and let them do the harvesting. Thousands of acres, the past season, have been devoted to this method, that, under ordinary cir- cumstances of labor, would have found their way to our markets in grain, instead of coming in beef and pork. Our present situation and future pros- pects demand of every man who cultivates the 8oil, to make the most of the means under his control, to produce all the grain and other crops he possibly can for the sustenance of man and beast. Plant, if possible, another acre, even if it be at the risk, in some measure, of impoverishing your land. On your strongest lands plant corn ; on your poor, beans. You may, in this way, ren- der incalculable service to your country, in keep- ing the price of life-supporting substances within reasonable limits. It will be impossible for our great grain grow- ing States to put in their usual quantity of corn the coming spring — or in grain, to forward their last season's crops to our markets. The result of this state of things we can readily see. As wise and patriotic men let us act in view of it, and in- crease our products as much as possible. Rochester, Jan. 30, 1863. o. K. For the New England Farmer. PROFIT OF SHEEP. Mr. Editor : — It affords me pleasure to find an occasional article in the Farmer on the subject of sheep and wool-growing. I presume there are many others of your readers, who, with myself, would be glad to have you devote more space to this important interest. To the farmers of New Hampshire and Vermont, at least, this is an inter- esting subject. From my acquaintance with farming in Eastern Massachusetts, I had supposed that most of the farmers there knew but little, and cared even less about sheep. But I observe in a recent number of the Farmer, that even in Boston, and in a leg- islative agricultural meeting, there was sufficient interest in the sheep question, to lead that honor- able body to devote an evening to its discussion. From your brief report of the views advanced on that occasion, I infer, however, that Massachusetts farmers have not yet become very much excited about sheep. The opinions expressed, do not ap- pear very decidedly in favor of wool-growing in Massachusetts, (a) Numerous examples of suc- cessful effort in this direction seemed to have been wanting. Now, it is a wonder to me, that the farmers of Massachusetts — a little removed from a good city market — have not long ago found it for their in- terest to keep sheep. In this section — where we are practically as near Boston market as the large majority of Massachusetts farmers — cattle and horses are mostly kept from necessity or conve- nience, but sheep, for the i-eal j^ro^fU of the thing. And we realize what we keep them for — a profit. And not a few of our farmers make a very hand- some profit, too. If you were here, I could take you to several flocks, within a few miles, where the average annu- al income, from the ewe sheep old enough to raise lambs, would exceed ten dollars per head. Now, the cost of keeping these sheep a year does not exceed two dollars per head ; showing a net profit far exceeding anything, so far as I am acquainted, obtained from neat stock. These are fine wooUed sheep, commonly called Spanish Merino, although but few of them ai"e pure Merino. You will bear in mind that I do not claim the above results in favor of all our farmers. But what a few have done by persevering, careful management, may be done by any one in a like manner, whether in this State or Massachusetts. A. B. Palmer. Orfordmlle, N. H., Feb. 1863. P. S. I shall be pleased to see what you have to publish on the "influence of food on the quality of sheep." A. B. P. REM.4.RKS. — (a) Hundreds, if not thousands, of farmers, in Massachusetts, would be glad to keep sheep, if they could — but where their neigh- bors are licensed to let a ferocious beast run at large and destroy them, they will not incur the risk, and a still more important one, that of get- ting into a quarrel with neighbors with whom they might otherwise live in harmony for a life-time. F(jr the New England Farmer. INCREASE THE FODDER. Mr. Brown : — As it is the season of the year, when every good farmer is mapping out the com- ing season's work, and endeavoring to estimate its results, I may be pardoned if I take the liberty of suggesting to such, that their plans and purpo- ses should be governed by the peculiar circumstan- ces of the country at present, and as it in all hu- man probability will be for the coming year, so far as its production of life-sustaining crops are con- cerned. We have a greater interest here than in the prices of cotton and wool, or the worse than worthless production of tobacco and alco- holic drinks. The producing and laboring classes of our great grain growing States, have been sad- ly decimated by the war, since last spring's plant- ing and sowing season, and in consequence, im- mense quantities of corn now remain unharvested from this cause. Had it not been for the very warm winter, which kept the fields too muddy to work in, or haul the corn from when harvested, much would have found its way to market as grain, that now will be consumed by cattle and hogs, or wasted upon the ground. As in a previ- ous article I have alluded to these facts for the purpose of urging upon every farmer the raising of all the food he can for man, I now urge the in- 1863. NEW ENGLAND FAR>rER. lOS crease of our forage crop by every means in our power for the sustenance of beasts, as they are large consumers of grain, especially when forage is high, and grain in comparison with it, lower. I suppose it is a conceded fact, that we can produce more food for horses and cattle by sowing corn, or planting it in drills, than in any other manner ; and, also, that no plant we grow will cause cows to give milk so freely, or, properly fed to horses, will bear comparison with it. It is the custom, in the Southern States, to gather the leaves and bind them in bundles for farm use, and for market. These leaves are termed there corn blades. One, and only one objection have I ever heard named against the raising of corn for fodder, viz., the difficulty of curing it so as to have it free from mould and souring. ^ly experience in curing corn in the shock led me to suggest to my son-in-law, last season, the propriety of trying to cure it by putting it in shock as soon as cut, not allowing it to wilt, as ho was doing, and having much trouble with it. The result was most satisfactory to him. He bound in bundles as cut, and set in shocks st once. It cured bright and sweet, making a most excellent fodder, better in every respect than thai cured by spreading in the sun. I think we can rely upon the result of this experiment as being a safe method to adopt. I would cut when there was a prospect of sev- eral days fair weather, if I could. It will bear standing longer than any other crop beyond the time we may think it well to cut it, without dam- aging. I thiow out these hints, and shall be am- ply compensated if but one is profited thereby. Boch&iter, Feb. 1863. o. K. For the ^ew England Farmer, BBMEDY FOR CATTLE GNAWING BOARDS. Mr. Editor : — I believe the cause of cattle gnawing their cribs, boards, &c., is because their food is deficient in some property that the system requires, causing their appetites to crave bones, and not finding them, they become, as it were, desperate, and seek to satiate this desire by chew- ing whatever they can reach. I think, by a care- ful analysis of their food, it will be found there is a lack of superphosphate of lime. I well recollect, when a boy, when my father first occupied the farm that he and I now jointly occupy, the cows then upon the farm would gnaw ihe sides of the barn, and chew sticks and splinters. For a remedy my father commenced sowing clover, when seeding meadows to grass, and the disease has gradually but surely disappeared. During the winter, when they get a fair proportion of clover in their fodder, we seldom notice any symptoms of the disease. But in summer, our pasture not producing much clover, the cows seek to meet the demands of na- ture by chewing every bone they can find, but not with so much greediness as formerly. I would recommend to Jesse R. Fitts, or any other subscriber of the Fui-mer, to feed cattle in- clined to gnaw, liberally with good clover hay, and I will warrant them to improve in condition ; and when they manifest a desire to chew, a sweet lock of clover hay will meet their approval. I would urge all the readers of the Fai'mer to peruse carefully that excellent piece, in a recent number, on the cultivation of clover. I think chemistry tells us that clover is rich in phosphate, and therefore a luxuriant clover field is a vein of gold to the farmer. Gardner Herrick. South Reading, T?., Feb. 1803. GOD SPEED THE PLOUGH. God speed the ploughshare ! tell me not Disgrnce attends the toil Of those who plough the dark green sod, Or till the fruitful soil. Why should the honest ploughman shrink From mingling in the van Of learning and of wis(r F,nal'vnil Farmer. SPANISH MERINO SHEEP. Friend Brown : — I have just returned from a trip in search of Spanish Merino sheep. I rode over a large portion of this State, and saM' what were claimed to be pure blood sheep, but found none that so fully resembled the stock as those I saw at Mr. Stephen Atwood's, Watertown, Ct., and those of Mr. Joseph Rovvell, Weare, X. H. A portion of Mr. R.'s flock compares verj' favora- bly with those I saw last summer, while looking up stock, at Mr. Atwood's. Mr. Rowell has been a successful breeder of fine-wooled sheep, from the fact that he has every year obtained the best buck to be had. from Ver- mont, and selected his best ewes invariably, which has produced a larger sheep of this class, and larger clip and superior quantity of wool. His experience has taught him that it is not best to put his ewes to breeding, until two past — coming in at three years old — in that way he gets strong- er sheep, and heavier shearers, which is a profita- ble result. Any one who has a taste for this stock of sheep, I would advise to take a look at Mr. Howell's stock before i)urchasing, as his prices compare fa- vorably with his stock. Better sheep and lower prices are very important to farmers in war times. AmJicrst, N. K, Feb., 1863. P. w. J. The Bees should be looked to every few days, to prevent the accumulation of moisture in close weather, which will freeze some cold night and stift'en the swarm. Take advantage of very fair days to give extra ventilation, so the bees may fly out to take the air, and that the inside of the hives may drj'. A little upward ventilation, at all times, will prevent the collection of moisture from the heat of the swarm, and also secure it against damp chills. — Ohio Farmer. In the south of France a harvest of two and a half millions of pounds weight of flower leaves is gathered every year, and sold for about a quarter of a million pounds sterling. It consists of 100,- 000 pounds of leaves of the orange blossom. 500,- 000 pounds of rose leaves, 1(X),000 pounds of jas- mine blooms, 60,000 pounds of violets, 65.000 pounds of acacia buds, 30,000 pounds tuberobes, and 5000 pounds of jonquil flowers. 104 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. March CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. Calendar fbr March Page 73 Pleuro Pneumonia — Army Horses 74 Cultivation of Nuts— What Ought to be 75 Farmers' Clubs 75 Errors in Books and Newspapers 77 Study your Calling — Cooked and Uncooked Food for Swine.. 77 Culture of Pears 78 Happy New Year 80 Flax Culture, No. 1 81 Whittemore's Vesetable Cutter 81 Extracts and Replies 83,91,97 The Apple Crop 83 Rotary Farmers' Clubs 84 Hudson River Highlands— Grape Growing 85 Winter Feeding of Sheep 86 Preserving Milk 8weet 86 Preparation of Produce for Market 87 Culture of Chiccory — Guano Reports — Error Corrected 88 Ag. College of Pennsylvania — Orchard Culture. . 89 American Pomological Society 89 Hop Crop — Hungarian Soil 90 Experiments in Feeding Hogs 90 Glue for Ready Use 91 Rule for Reducing Chains, &c., to Feet 92 Sick Pig and Cattle— Yellow Locust 92 Winter Snow — Save Your Fodder 93 The Weather— Ventilation in Stables 93 Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden Ag. Society 9o Middlesex Agricultural Society — Fitchburg Railroad 94 Life of Asa G. Sheldon 95 Yokes — Film on Horse's Eye — Blistered Hands 95 Diseased Pigs — Charcoal — Hungarian Millet 96 Wintering Stock 97 Queries about Top-Dressing — Railroad Fences 98 Culture of Sweet Potato— Why Salt is Healthful 99 Legislative Agricultural Meetings ....100 Maple Sugar — New Canal Project 101 Plant One Acre More— Profit of Sheep 102 Increase the Fodder 102 Remedy for Cattle Gnawing Bones 103 God Speed the Plough — Spanish Merino Sheep 103 Cattle Market for Februarj' 104 A m:ember of the Belgian Central Society of agriculture has recommended to the attention of the society a new variety of the potato, which is remarkable in the triple point of view of flavor, abundance and facility of preservation. It appears to be a variety of what is called chardon in Bel- gium. The stalk grows to the height of twelve inches, and throws out many branches. The blos- som is of a pale violet color, and produces no fruit. A field of one acre of third class quality, lightly manured, produced 22,000 kilogrammes of sound potatoes. The neighboring farmers were astonished, not only at the enormous produce, but at the absence of any unsound potatoes. The crop was dug out on October 12th. ^ff' The French iron-clad steamship La Nor- mandie — so late Havana advices state — has been sent back to France, as it has been found the crew could not live in the hot climate of the Gulf of Mexico with the defective ventilation of that ship. This circumstance, together with the fact that the vessel was strained on her voyage out, shows that the French have as much trouble with their iron- clads as have the English or Americans with theirs. The critics of the Monitors, therefore, may be con- soled. S^^ Mr. Jesse Hinds, of Brandon, Vt., recently sold and delivered to C. D. Sweet, of North Ben- nington, twenty-six two years old, and four year- ling ewes — in all, thirty sheep, for the snug little sum of three thousand dollars. CATTLE MARKETS FOB FEBKUAKY. The following is a summary of the reports fbr the five weeks ending February 19, 1863: NUMBER AT MARKET. * Sheep and Shotes and Live Cattle. Lambs. Pigs. Fat Hogs. Veals. January 22.... 1802 3058 250 3100 20 «' 29.... 1983 3881 180 1500 20 February 5..., 1711 2145 170 500 30 " 12. ...1202 3171 60 364 25 " 19.... 1504 2764 — 60 50 Total 8,202 15,019 650 5,624 145 The following table exhibits the number of cattle and sheep from several States, for the last five weeks, and for the corres- ponding five weeks last year ; also, the total number from Jan- uary Ist to February 19, eight weeks of each year: THIS TEAR. LAST TEAR. Cattle. Sheep. Cattle. Sheep. Maine 1245 443 487 422 New Hampshire 1182 2396 511 1270 Vermont 2706 3260 1589 3447 Massachusetts 716 3956 502 2498 Northern New York 208 647 j jgg j^g Canada 31 6 | Western States 2114 4311 2696 6069 Total, last five weeks, 8,202 15,019 5,981 13,809 Total, since Jan. 1,(8 w'ks,) 12,121 22,812 10,330 33,165 • Remarks. — The market of the first of the foregoing five weeka may be characterised as buoyant ; the next two as dull, some cattle being held over each week, but with no great change in prices ; and the last two weeks as quite brisk, — all the sheep and most of the cattle being sold Tuesday. The prices of live stock appear to be gradually advancing, more in consequence of the rise of hides, pelts and tallow, than of the rise in meat, which however, is considerable. PRICES. Jan.%1. Jan.1°i. Feh.b. i^e6.12. Feb.\9 Beef,lst,2d&3dqual..5 (g7 5 ig7 5 @7 5^@7i b\®1\ " a few extra Il&lh 7ift7i 7Jg7J 7Jg8 7VS8 Sheep and lambs, ^ !b..5 s6i 5 @6.i 5|a6J 5^-27 5|(@7J Swine, stores, wh'sale.4ig5 43^5 4ig5 4 @ 4 @ » '< retail.... 5 %f,\ 5 ©6^ 5 (§6^ 4 (g6 4 @6 Hides, #"» 7Jg8 7iS8 7ig8 7iig8 8 §8^ Pelts, each, $2 @ $2 (g2i$2 52^$2^g3 $2^33 Tallow, 4?lb 8@ 8® 8® ©8^ 8^g9 Fat Cattle. — The cattle mentioned below were at market February 19th. Mr. J. C. Batchelder sold to J. B. Thomas, of Danvers, 9 cat- tle from the town of Stowe, Vt. ; 1 pair cherry red oxen, of the Hereford breed, weighed 4700 lbs., the two varying only 14 lbs., and so much alike as to be distinguished with difficulty, were fed by H. Thomas ; another pair of mottle-faced, red oxen, twins, weighing 4230 fts., were fed by F. Wade ; the third pair, raised by Mr. Wilkins, weighed 4000 lbs. ; the fourth pair, weighing 3600 lbs., were fed by Mr. Bennett, and a rich cow, fed by H. Thomas, estimated to dress 900 lbs., made up this car-load of splendid beef, which were sold by dollars at the rate of 8c ^ lb. William Scollans bought in Albany a carload of cattle, — eight oxen and one cow, — which the oldest market-men admit- ted were the largest and fattest bunch that had ever been otTered for sale in Brigliton. One pair of red oxen, of the Hereford breed, were fed by A. M. Clark, Auburn, N. Y., and were sold by him in Albany to Mr. Scollans. The home weight of these well mated bullocks was 6390 lbs. But so well proportioned were they, that at first sight their great size was not fully realized. A Maine drover, who stood six feet and four inches in his boots, measured his height with these oxen, and boasted that he was the only man in the crowd who could look over them, and said they were full six feet high. He also put his chain upon one of them, by which, with the aid of a carpenter's rule, he made a circuit of some nine feet and four or five inches, equal, he said, to good ten feet, at home. The other six we understood were fed in the same neighbor- hood. One pair roan Durhams, weighed 5190 lbs. ; one pair white Durhams, weighed 5130 lbs., and a pair of spotted na- tives, weighed 4720. Large as they were, the whole were full as remarkable for fatness as for size. Such ribs and flanks, such backs and rumps, — such oxen, altogether, are seldom seen. DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND 11 o x^U\Ui.xE>u Ai^ro AimD ov^i-mN; CrJs. VOL. XV. BOSTON, APRIL, 18G3. NO. 4. NOUBSE, EATOX & TOLMAN, Troprietoes. Office. .. .102 Washington Street. SIMON BROWX, Editor. SUGGESTED BY THE RETURN OF APRIL. "Then at this welcome season, friends, Let's welcome thus each other, Each kind to each, shake hands with each, Each be to each a brother." N the return of sprinrj there is something re- vivifying to all hearts. We are awakened by neM' inspirations. The snows are gone. South winds come kindly from dis- tant regions, sweep off the su- perabundant moisture, warm- ing the soil and bringing a new resurrection of vegetable life. The meaning of the word A'pril is, to open, or put foHli, — and nothing in the whole circle of the monilis more manifestly sets forth the wisdom of God than the new life which everywhere springs into existence around us. "The vital spark re- kindles in dormant existences ; and all things live, and move, and have their being." The earth puts on her livery to await the call of her lord ; the air breathes gently on his cheek, and conducts to his ear the warblings of the birds and the odors of new-born herbs and flowers ; the water teems with life ; man liimself feels the re- vivifying influence ; and his "Spirit holds communion sweet With the brighter spirits of the sky." The return of April is suggestive of many du- ties and of many beautiful tilings. Perhaps the leading thoughts with many are, in relation to the garden and the transplanting of shrubs and trees. While writing, we Sad before us a letter from Mr. Oliver P. Mead, of Middlebury, Vt., so full of just and beautiful thoughts, and so well calculat- ed to arouse new efi'ort to beautify and bless the land, that we drop our pen and yield the space to him. He is full of enthusiasm, and our heart beats responsive to every thought he utters. "I am a great lover of the beautiful in nature," he says. "The foliage of luxuriant trees, with their endless intermixture of colors, gracefulness and beauty, and the bursting into blossom of a thou- sand flowers, difl'using their sweet perfumes over hill and dale, are sights which I delight to behold. "What looks more beautiful around a farmer's home, than a group of ornamental trees ? There is music in the murmur of the leaves ; and how inviting their cool shade on a summer's day! How delightful ! How attractive ! I admire the wisdom of that man who seeks to make his home attractive, by the cultivation of trees, fruits and flowers. His children will rise up and call him blessed, and his memory will flourish when he sleeps in dust. What looks moi'e desolate than a farmer's home without a tree or a shi-ub around it ? exposed in summer to the burning sun, and in winter to the drifting snows ! "Trees are a substantial comfort, and ought to be cultivated by every farmer. How pleasing to the eye is the home richly embellished with trees and flowers ! The great Creator, with infinite wisdom and skill, formed the trees with grace and grandeur, and the beautiful flowers of every hue, and the towering mountains to beautify and adorn the earth ! What a desolation would this world present to our view, were it all a far-extended plain, without a tree or a flower ! But it is not so ; it is clothed with beauty, far surpassing the poet's imagination. "The most simple cottage, richly adorned with ornamental trees and flower beds, is far more j agreeable to the eye than the costly mansion, ! without the beauty imparted by the green foliage 106 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Apeil of luxuriant trees. Flowers and trees are luxu- ries that can be enjoyed by all classes of society in the country. None are so poor but what they can cultivate them. I love to see a disposition in young persons to cultivate flowers. It shows a refinement of feeling, which those do not possess, who do not admire the lovely smiles of innocent flowers. "If it were more generally the practice to erect good country residences, and adorn the same with ornamental trees and flowers, agricultural pursuits would be far more attractive to young people. With some men there is nothing beautiful but a money gain. If their wives or daughters culti- vate a flower bed, they think it is time foolishly spent. The love of money shuts up every avenue to happineiss, and not only makes the man miser- able who worships it, but his family also. No one can be happy in this world without they ad- mu-e the beautiful works of God and worship the only true Deity. "When I see a neat little cottage, beautifully adorned with evergreens and flowers, and hear kind voices within, the thought occurs to me, how little it costs to make our homes attractive, and those with whom we daily associate happy and cheerful. "I would invite attention to the great importance of out-door attractions. Every member of a fam- ily should have out-door exercise and fresh air. It would be far more beneficial to the health of the ladies, if they would engage in the pleasant and agreeable employment of cultivating a flower garden, and spend less time in the drawing-room. Pure, fresh air is life, and those who perpetually confine themselves within the house do not reaUze the great amount of injury they are receiving from such confinement. "Kind readers, cultivate and admire the beauti- ful in nature, and cherish those finer feeHngs which were implanted within our souls by a hand Divine. Live a pure life, unspotted from the world, so that when our pilgrimage closes on earth, we can pass away, calm and serene as the summer's setting sun." For the New England Fanner. THE FARMER'S PROFESSION". Messes. Editors : — During the past few weeks I have been reading, with great pleasure and great profit, the very interesting articles on "Agricul- ture as a Science," published in your valuable pa- per. I regard it as a happiness for our country when so many gifted minds from the vast masses of intelligent society in New England, as well as in other sections of this great land, are concen- trating their light upon a subject so fraught with interest as that of agriculture, and the more I re- flect upon the subject, the moi'e strange it seems that, long ago, it had not found its appropriate place with the other sciences in our institutions of learning ; that deriving, as we do, our food, our clothing, our wealth, our very bodies, even, from the soil we tread upon, we, as a thinking people, have placed so light an estimate upon it as the true science to be cultivated next to moral- ity and religion. Indeed, the farmer's duties lie altogether in the line of morality — to say nothing of the religion of agriculture. It seems to me that the farmer may be said to walk with God in nature. But there will be con- flicting opinions, doubtless, entertained in regard to this matter, even amongst the very best edu- cators. Here and there a teacher may be found who will regard the science of agriculture alto- gether out of place in the schoolroom. But for the most part, here in New England especially, you have hosts of teachers qualified and favorably disposed to introduce their pupils at once to this important science. Amongst these I would men- tion the scores that annually leave your Normal schools. They, of course, have a thorough knowl- edge of chemistry, mineralogy, geology, botany and physiology — sciences that lie at the very foun- dation of agricultural knowledge. With these for a foundation, they are qualified to appreciate a good text book on agriculture, and at once to adapt their knowledge to large classes of those who attend district schools. In my next I will endeavor to tell you of the manner in which, for many years, I have labored without books, to induce in my large classes of pupils a taste for this pleasant, useful and vastly important science. A Teacher Abroad. Northampton, Mass., Feb. 16, 1863. Remarks. — Thank you, sir. You encourage and inspire us. Our columns are open to you. For the Neio England Farmer. WOOL GROWERS' ORGAN. At a meeting of the Directors of the Vermont State Agricultural Society, held at Bellows Falls, on the 12th inst., the following resolution was adopted : Whereas, Daniel Needham, Secretary of this Society, has received communications from Penn- sylvania, Ohio, Michigan and other Western States, as well as from parties in our own State, encouraging the establishment of a Wool Grow- ers' organ. And, Whei-eas, Propositions have been made to him by publishers in other States, as well as our own, for the establishment of such an organ. It is Resolved, That in consideration of the fact that we find it difficult to decide, at the present time, what course to pursue, the whole matter be post- poned to our next meeting, and that, in the mean- time, our Secretary be requested to continue his correspondence on the subject, with the view of enabling us to reach some definite conclusion hereafter. * Health and Strength. — A man who takes proper care of himself, and indulges in plenty of air, exercise, and, above all, recreation, ought to be in a high range of health and strength from twenty-four years to sixty-five. New Cotton Fields. — Experiment has shown that cotton can be cultivated in California, while in Utah, cotton raising has become quite a busi- ness, 70,000 pounds of very superior quaUty hav- ing been grown last year. 1863. XEW ENGLAND FARMER. 107 For the New England Farmer. THE CLOVER PLANT. The importance of the clover plant in all sys- tems of rotation which have for their object not only profitable returns, but the keeping up of the fertility of the soil, can scarcely be overrat- ed. Well did the good knight Schubert, more than two hundred years ago, promise the peasants of Germany that, if they "would grow clover, they should have ample cause for rejoicing, and of praising the Lord out of the fulness of their hearts, for His rich blessings." In pursuance of this advice "clover became," in the words of Thaer, "the basis of agriculture, the pivot on which it should turn," which in a system of rotation with other crops "yields au advantageous produce, and at the same time maintains the soil in a favorable comlition for the following crops." If this was true of German agriculture it is equally so of that of many sections of this country. Mr. Geddes, in his survey of Onondaga Co., for the New York State Agricultui-al Society, opens his chapter on practical farming with these words : "The agri- culture of Onondaga County is based on the clo- ver plant. It is used for pasture, for hay, and for manure. Strike this plant out of existence and a revolution would follow that would make it neces- sary to learn everything anew in legard to culti- vating our lands." Pi'operly managed, it is equally important on many soils, to the New England farmer. Hence •we would offer sundry further suggestions as to soils and seeding. The soils most favorable to clover are those con- taining both lime and clay ; not too great a pro- portion of the latter, but rather that known as a clayey loam. On such a soil, in a proper state of cultivation, it is, according to Thaer, "in its native abode ; nothing is required beyond the spreading of the seed — the clover gets the better of all the plants that grow around it." It will thrive on any soil of moderate depth and fertility, if favored by a season of sufficient moisture. Sandy loams, however, are often deficient in lime, and also over- charged with acids, as shown by the growth of sorrel and dock, which are apt to overgrow the clover ; but ashes or manure will so stimulate the clover that it will finally succeed. It is said that a mixture of ashes and gypsum is much the best top-dressing for clover, on very acid soils, greatly increasing its growth. Clover is best sown \vith some other crop, be- cause it rarely yields much the first year, and in the early stages of its growth it is assisted by the protection of other grain, which should be removed as early as may be ; for "the sooner," says Thaer, "the crop with which clover is grown is harvested, the greater the growth of the clover." In my ex- perience I have found it to succeed best with win- ter wheat and rye, next with spring wheat, next with barley, and lastly with oats. A good deal of clover seed has been sown which has failed to produce the intended crop, and va- rious causes operate to hinder its vegetation or to destroy the young plants. One cause of non-veg- etatioii is the deep covering, or no covering given the seed. Sown on spring grain, and harrowed in with a heavy harrow, much is placed too deep to be able to grow. Or, if sown on the fresh soil, after the grain is covered, without any after treat- ment, unless a heavy rain comes soon to wash it into the soil, the failure is equally sure. On win- ter grain it is sometimes lost because sown too late. If sown in March, or as soon as the fields are bare, the freezing and thawing of the soil wiJl furnish a proper covering for clover seed ; on spring grains I would rather use the roller after sowing, or pass over it with a light brush harrow. Another cause of failure, and one from which we have suffered more than any other, is the drought often occurring in early 'summer, before the young clover gets sufficient growth to with- stand its effects, and it is burned or dried up. Remedy: the earliest sowing practicable, and ma- nurial aid to induce a vigorous growth. Gy])sum, or plaster, usually proves such a stimulant. A light top-dressing of fine manure harrowed in with the spring grain, is equally beneficial, and if the soil is not very fertile, should be given, in addition to the dressing of plaster and ashes. On land run down to a very low state of fertili- ty, some such treatment is absolutely necessary ; but once secure your clover crop and you may re- deem the land. H. For the New Bngland Farmer, HUNGARIAN 'JRASS. It may prove a satisfaction, (if not a benefit.") to the young farmer who made some inquiries a few weeks since, in relation to Hungarian grass, for me to say I have cultivated, on an average, from four to five acres, for five successive years. I have now, January 31, 18G3, one bushel and two-thirds of seed, measured out for the five acres I design to devote to the crop the coming season. For two years past, my seed has been mostly sold to deal- ers, at about one dollar per bushel. I have fre- quently sowed other grass seed with Hungarian, for future crops of hay, and have never failed of a fii-st-rate catch. Hungarian, (like other grains), varies in weight according to its perfection, from 44 to 55 pounds per bushel. It would be entirely superfluous for me to say I like it. I only state facts. Let "More Anon" theorize. Where there is a plenty of everything, spice will be enjoyed by those who like it. May we expect something before spring opens, through the columns of the Farmer, in relation to the propriety of cultivating sorghum in New Eng- land, as a means of obtaining saccharine matter for household purposes ? Wm. Richauds. Richmond, Mass., 1863. F.r the Neie England Farmer. BRAIN IN BUTTER AND OTHER ARTICLES. Mr. Editor : — Farmers complairw that cultiva- tion of the soil renders them but a small return. Without doubt this is frequently the case, but why is it ? The fact is, the fiirmer puts in little, ex- pecting to take out much— to reap when he has not sown. The great lack is in not taking a bus- iness-like view of the matter. The merchant in- vests money in goods ; if he gives half his time and attention to the store he expects to receive pay in proportion, in addition to a fair percentage for the use of the capital. The farmer has an idea that, some how, his business will go on of itself— that he can lie still on wet days in summer and sit by the fire in winter, without diminishing his annual gains. This is not so ; he cannot put in 108 XEW ENGLAND FARMER. April six or nine months' work and take out pay for twelve months. One year with another, every in- telligent farmer may depend on receiving a fair per cent, on his capital, together -with reasonable pay for his time actually bestowed. Let the hard-working yeoman give himself, and his family, and his cattle plenty of relaxation. "Covetousness bursts the bag," is an old maxim, and constant pull, pull, pull, wears out mind and body both. Yet indolence is not enjoyment ; nor in that way does the body or mind recover tone or strength. Do not, however, grumble to find, at the year's end, that your play has cost money. Make everything as valuable as possible before you sell it. If your dairy produces butter, let it be the very best ; so of your cheese and your ma- ple sugar. Study all these things and your re- ward is certain. Remember this, that the more brain you put into your products the higher price you will get for them. Do not understand, Mr. Editor, that I broadly chai"ge indiiTerence and la- ziness upon all our agriculturists ; by no means. I merely offer these suggestions, hoping that some who aspire to better things, may receive there- from hints which will profit them. D. Claremont, X. H., 1863. Remarks. — Please forward the articles spoken of. htfiiUence of food on the quality OF wool. The remark is quite common among people who live in the city and who have at some time resid- ed in the country, that they wiU purchase pork only of those who feed it with corn, milk, grass and vegetables, — never of those who use the blood and offal of the slaughter-house. There is good cause for such preference. The flesh of a hog, for instance, that has run in the pastures and woods, and fed mostly upon the roots of grass and bush- es, acorns and nuts, fbr most of his life, will be so strong as to give positive evidence of it, even while it is cooking. This is often the case where the animal may have been fed on grain in his pen for several weeks previous to being slaughtered. • It is generally supposed that the beef of an ox fed in pastures affording an abundance of young and tender clover and other rich grasses would be sweeter and ever)- way better than that of an ox fed in a pasture of coarse and innutritions herb- age, though both attained the same weight. The qvolity of the feed certainly affects the flesh, and we believe it to be pretty well settled that it also affects the hair of the animal. It is finer, softer and more glossy on the weU-fed horse, ox or cow. Why should not the same rule hold good with regard to the sheep ? The food of an animal — and of ourselves — is much more rapidly diffused through the system, transformed into chyle and assimilated into blood and nutriment, than most of us are aware of. The case of an ox eating a single onion is in point. A butcher was driving an ox half a mile from his yard to the slaughter-house, where he was imme- diately dressed, and the next day carried about to customers. On his next round they all complain- ed that the beef tasted so strong of onions that they could not eat it ! Upon inquiry of the per- son who sold the ox to the butcher, it was ascer- tained that he had been kept in his stall, and that not an onion had been raised upon the farm that year. The fact was clear, however, that the flesh of that animal was strongly impregnated -with the peculiar odor of the onion, and greatly to the dis- comfort of the neat and conscientious butcher. Revolving the matter in his mind as he went his daily rounds, he at length recollected that in driv- ing the ox along the road he picked up some- thing which he supposed at first was a small po- tato, but which he saw was an onion before the ox had got it fairly into his mouth. The flesh of poultry is sometimes sensibly affected by their running under some of the back buildings of the farm, where they never should be allowed to go. If the flesh of animals is thus acted upon by the food they eat, we see no reason why the skin and hair, or wool, should not be, also, in some degree. In a work on "Fibrilia," advocating the intro- duction and use of flax in the place of cotton, by Stephen M. Allen, Esq., of Roxbury, Mass., we find an article on wool, which has some inter- esting references to the subject in question. In speaking of wool as not being peculiar to sheep, but forming a sort of under-coat beneath the long hair, in the goat and many other animals, it says : "The fleece of the domestic sheep has been greatly improved and modified by circum- stances of climate, pasture, shelter and judicious crossings of breeds, by which many varieties of wool have been grown, chiefly divisible into two great classes of carding and combing wool. The occurrence of hair in the fleece of the domestic sheep is now rare, and is considered as indicative of bad management ; but if sheep are left to them- selves on downs and moors, there is a tendency to the formation of hair among the wool. Change of pasture has a marked infiuenct on the quality of the icool. If sheep that have been fed on chalk downs [this term "downs" is applied in England to a tract of poor, naked, hilly land, used only for pasturing sheep,] be removed to richer pastures, only a month before shearing, a remarkable im- provement will take place in the fleece. So, also, sheep that occupy lands within a few miles of the sea will produce a longer and more pliant wool than that of sheep from more inland districts. "Wool varies in quality in the same flock at different times. When the sheep is in good con- dition, the fibre is brilliant ; but in badly fed or diseased sheep the wool is dull and dingy, and when cut from the dead animal it is harsh and weak, and takes the dye badly." The effect of innutritious feed upon sheep, as 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 109 described by Mr. Allex, corresponds to that up- on other animals, and ever}* farmer who is observ- ing will soon make the discovery for himself. The superior quality of the sea island cotton proba- bly arises from the peculiar circumstances under which it grows, — that is, having a rich soil in which to stand, and a icann but humid atmosphere during nearly the whole period of its growth. The saline vapors from the sea may have an in- fluence upon the plant, as they are said to have upon the sheep. Its culture has been attempted in various countries and localities, but never, we believe, with such success as attends it on the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. It is said that the fleece of a fine-wooled sheep may be changed into that of coarse wool, and then hair, by a change of feed and locality — from high- ly nutritious food and a warm or temperate cli- mate, to coarse and non-nutritious food and a rigid climate, — that is, nature tries to accommo- date the animal to the new condition in which it finds itself placed. If these are facts, they should be guides to the farmer in the management of his flocks. He should learn, by comparison, whether his locality and the quality of his feed will bring as much mutton and wool as those flocks kept in other lo- calities \\'ithin his knowledge. If not, then he should change his position, or abandon sheep for the culture of some other crop better adapted to his circumstances. For the !\'eic England Farmer. LETTEK FKOM MH. FKENCH. Washinyton, I). C, Feb. 6, 1863. My Dear Mr. Browx : — My old habit of re- porting progress to the N. E. Farmer, in my wan- derings, prompts me to say something to you of what I see and hear in this central position of po- litical affairs, although I have no idea of occupying any of your open space with politics. Do not in- fer, however, that I join in the silly, common-place cry against politics and politicians. The great mistake of the country is, that we have not given attention enough to education in political aff'airs ; but still, my belief is, that our country is as well governed, and its affairs as honestly administered, as "the lot of humanity wll admit." If each of us wiU do his best, instead of grumbling at the rest, all will yet go well. THE SOLDIERS. Most of my time here has been devoted to look- ing after the welfare of the soldiers. The officers of the Sanitary Commission and of the Massachu- setts and New Hampshire Relief Associations, have given me every faciUty for observing their operations, and I will say, in general, that I am surprised to find how perfect and thorough their systems have become, in affording relief to the suffering soldiers. THE UNITED STATES SANITARY COMMISSION. It may be a satisfaction to your readers, all of whom have friends in this war, to understand clearly the scope of the operations of the various institutions for the comfort of our brave defend- ers. The Sanitary Commission operates widely over the whole country, not limiting its benefits to any class or section. In general, its immenbe stores, collected from every loyal part of the Union, are distributed, upon requisitions from the vari- ous hospitals. Whenever a battle occurs, this com- mission is foremost on the field, with supplies of all kinds for the rehef of the wounded and suffer- ing. In Washington I have had opportunity to observe more particularly its operations, and when I tell you that Mr. Olmstead, author of "Walks and Talks," of "Seaboard and Slave States," and chief engineer of the New York Central Park, is general Secretary, you may be sure that its affairs are fiiithfully and energetically administered. I should "like, had we space, to give vou a full .sketch of a day with Mr. Knapp, the agent of the Commission for special relief. Among the rest, we visited some of the Lodges, which are indeed homos for the soldiers, where every deserving man, who wears his country's uniform, is welcomed to food and lodgings. Some two hundred soldiers are daily discharged from the armies in this neigh- borhood, many of them from the convalescent camp, which is about four m;l<^s from Washington. Most of these are sick or wounded, and nearly all of them came directly here. In general they have no money nor friends, and would wander, suffering, in the streets, without some assistance. To these the Sanitary Commit- tee brings instant aid ; every soldier who is dis- charged is directed to its rooms. The police of the city, and other agents, ai-e constantly on the watch to report every case of a soldier who needs assistance, so that it is hardly possible that any should escape notice. At the lodges, usually, two or three hundred, every night, find comfortable beds, and twice that number are daily furnished with a good dinner, and sent on their- way. I helped one day to distribute dinner tickets to about two hundred and fifty poor fellows, who had been discharged, and were waiting, most of them, for their pay, before going to their homes ; and a more truly thankful set of men I never saw. I conversed with many from New York, Penn- sylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and all New Eng- land. They were all good, manly fellows, intelli- gent and thoughtful, and all full of pleasant anti- cipations of home. The Sanitary Commission as- sists them to get their proper discharges, and to receive their pay, procures their tickets homeward at reduced prices, keeps them safely at the "Home," near the railroad station, till the train is ready, protects them from the sharpers and thieves, who are constantly hunting them down, and sees them fiiirly on board the cars. You may thus get some idea of the usefulness of this com- mission, in some details, though of its vast system of aid to the hospitals throughout the couutrv-, I have not time to write. K the Sanitary Commis- sion had funds enough, and its system could be carried out, no other society would be necessary to the care of the soldiers, but with all that it can do, there is yet room for more laborers, and among the agencies for good to the soldier, no one is more efficient than THE MASSACHUSETTS SOLDIERS' RELIEF AS- SOCIATION, The special duties of this society are towards Massachusetts soldiefs. Its rooms here are sup- no NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. April plied with hospital stores, furnished by the chari- table men and women of Massachusetts. Its agents visit the various hospitals and camps, and procure lists of all the soldiers who need assistance. Gard- ner Tufts, Esq., Treasurer and principal agent of the association, an energetic, devoted, practical man, gives to the work his whole time, seeing per- sonally to the application of the means committed to the society for distribution. It seems to me, that the various societies in Massachusetts, especially of ladies, M'ho are labor- ing for the soldiers, are hardly doing for this asso- ciation, so much as it fairly demands. There was not, when I was last in their rooms, a single flan- nel under garment on hand, and daily calls were made for such comforts. I can assure your read- ers, that any money, or articles of clothing, or del- icacy for the sick, is as sure of being judiciously applied to the use of some sufiering Massachusetts soldier, as if the donor went personally and saw to its application. I am impressed with the im- portance of liberally sustaining this association, having seen with my own eyes how, like minister- ing angels, its agents perform their duties. Their attentions are personal to the individual case. They pass through the hospitals, and note down the wants of the Massachusetts soldier. His name is entered on their books, and the needed articles of food, or medicine or clothing are carried and given to him whenever necessary. Correspon- dence is o]3ened with his friends ; he is watched and cared for, till he is well enough to come out of the hospital, and then is sent homeward, or back to his regiment. I wish to impress upon the kind hearts of friends at home, the fact that their liberality is not lost, that their efforts are successful, that their contri- butions reach their destination surely, through either of the societies I have named, as perhaps they do through other channels. Sending packa- ges to individual soldiers in the army, who are in health, is probable the worst disposition of our means. More than twenty thousand such packa- ges were not long since, at one time, here, that could not be forwarded. These would have been of almost countless value to these relief associa- tions. Still, New England is rich, and can give always, and, to all worthy objects, and they who think first of their own household, do not forget their neighbor's. Truly yours, Henky F. French. HO"W TO TAKE CARE OF HARNESS, In answer to the inquiry respecting the kind of oil for harness, I give you the results of my ob- servation for more than thirty years, holding my- self responsible for the conclusion I have drawn therefrom. It is amusing to read the receipts for prepara- tion, said to be "excellent for leather." Many appliances are resorted to, in order to give a gloss to leather ; that which is composed of shellac forms a crust on the surface, which tends to crack the grain, and is therefore injurious. Few take any care of harness ; many take improper care. Whenever leather is wet, it loses a portion of its oil, and if suffered to remain wet long,, it will lose all of this substance ; and if this is not re- stored, the leather becomes dry and brittle. The grain will shrink and crack, when the life is gone. Leatho' should he Icept dean, for dirt of any kind will absorb the oil. The more leather is used and exposed to Avet, perspiration of the horse or other cause, the more frequently it should be oiled ; it needs oiling oftener in summer than in winter ; if not used at all, it should be occa- sionally oiled, to keep it supplied with what is lost by evaporation. The patent leather parts of a harness, such as winkers, saddle, &c., should be rubbed over with some clean, soft oil, and imme- diately M'iped off with a soft, woollen rag or cha- mois leather ; this is all the care those parts need. When not used, harness should be hung up in a dark closet, as cool as possible, but not damp ; it M'ill stand the cold of winter better than the heat of summer. To clean and oil a harness, hang it where all parts can be reached easily ; (it would be better to unbuckle every strap ;) wash clean by a sponge or woollen rag with blood warm water and castile soap, using as little water as will do the work ; when two-thirds dry, apply the oil with a woollen rag, pulling each strap through your hand ; be careful that where the buckle holes are, a little more is applied ; also the belly-bands, breechings and the straps that buckle in the bits need an ex- tra allowance ; let it remain in a warm place for a few hours, (not in the hot "sun, or before a hot fire,) until the oil has well entered the leather ; then rub off all that remains on the surface brisk- ly with a dry, woollen rag, and your work is fin- ished. Be careful that you do not apply too much oil, and be equally careful that you apply it often enough. The best oil for harness, is one quart neats foot oil, four ounces beef's tallow and three table- spoonfuls lampblack ; add four ounces beeswax, for use in summer weather. Ohio Farmer. George F. Marshall. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. PROFITS OF POrLTRY. My stock was seventeen hens and one rooster, and the account is for one year. The manure pays for the care. Eggs, one year $22,25 Poultry sold , 10,69 $32,94 Cost of keeping, and raising 38 chickens 16,02 Profit $16,32 The hens were kept in a house and yard all the time, but an hour before sunset, each day, when they were let out and allowed to ramble where they pleased. The chickens went out at will. Breed, Bolton Grays. I think they are the best to lay. They are of moder- ate size. My house is 10 by 12 feet, and yard 25 by 30. In this way I think they do better than to run at large ; at least, it costs less to keep them, and the hens hatch better, because they come from the nest, always find food before them, eat and return to the nest be- fore the eggs are cooled. Isaac HorsxoN. Hanover, N. H., Feb., 1863. SAP BEER. I wish to ask through your paper if you know of a good recipe for making sap beer ? If so, please give it in your paper soon, and oblige your humble ser- vant, Nathan Gushing, Jr. Woodstock, Vt., Feb., 1863. Remarks.— In the Monthly Farmer for May, 1858, page 247, Mr. Thomas G. Holbrook, of Manchester, Vt., has a recipe as follows : "Take one pound of good hops, put them in a clean barrel and take it to the orchard ; fill the barrel with sap and set it away 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Ill for use ; in about two weeks it will be fit for drinking, and will remain good till June, DORKING, HAMBURG AND COCHIN CHINA FOWLS. Will you inform me where I can purchase a few tull blood, fivc-toed, white Dorking. Hamburg or Co- chin China fowls ? Jacob P. Cilley. Exeter, N. H., Feb., 1863. Remarks. — Mr. John S. Ives, of Salem, Mass., can probably furnish tnem, if he has not the particular kinds you desire in his yard. RAISING MUSHROOMS. If you have at command practical directions for raising mushrooms, you will oblige many readers Iiy coraniunicating them. I tried the experiment accord ing to rules given in the American Agriculturist, and made an utter failure. Inquirer. Remarks. — Will some one reply who has the knowl- edge ? LEGISIiATIVE AGRICTJIiTUKAL MEET- INGS. KEPORTED FOR THE N. E. FARMER, BY G. W. CHASE. Monday evening, Feb. 16, the subject for dis- cussion was, "How to Make and Apply Manures." The Chairman, (Mr. Tower, of Lanesboro,') considered this the most important subject to the farmer, and urged the importance of more pre- cision in the making of experiments to restore the fertility of the soil. Barn manure is the best we have, but we have not enough of it. It was im- portant that farmers should know what particular elements were either in excess or wanting in their soils. Muck is one of the most valuable materi- als the farmer can use to compost with his barn manure. He thought the best way to use it was to keep large quantities in the barn yard to act as an absorbent. Concentrated manures should be composted. He had conducted a three-year's experiment in the application of manures, as lec- ommended by the State Board of Agriculture in 1859. He had been very exact in this experi- ment. In plot No. 1, the manure was ploughed in from eight to ten inches deep ; in No. 2, it was ploughed under about four inches ; in No. 3, it was simply harrowed in ; in No. 4, it was left upon the surface, and No. 5 received no manure at all. The result each year was as follows : FIRST TEAR. Ko. Xo. No. No. No. 1 gave 2 " 3 « 4 " 5 " 8!.8 lbs. corn, 951 " " 909 " " 759 " " 672 " " SECONI) YEAR. 800 lbs. stover. 728 " 69-2 " 640 " 510 " No. No. No. No. No. 1 gave 2 " 3 " 4 " 5 " 418i lbs. oats, 387| " " 330 " " 304i " " 247 " " 675 lbs. straw 041 " " 510 " " 460 " " 391 " " THIRD YEAR. No. 1 yielded 646 lbs. hay. No. 2 " 725 " " No. 3 " 590 " " No. 4 " 510 " " No. 5 " 320 He was satisfied that manure should be cover- ed, to get the full benefit of it. Mr. Howard, of the Cultivator, alluded to the practice of "paring and burning," and thought that it might be done to advantage in many cases. He once saw a crop of 600 to 800 bushels of tur- nips raised on one acre, without other manure than the ashes from burning the turf. He con- sidered the process only applicable to wet clay lands. Mr. HuBnARD, of Sunderland, believed wood ashes the cheajiest and best manure he could use. He had experimented with ashes, lime, and plaster, and found tliat the rows where ashes were applied were of a deeper green throughout the season, and gave nearly a double crop. Ai)])ly- ing ashes to the hill at" the first hoeing, almost doubled the crop. He had also applied aslies in the hill, and with good efiect. Mr. Flint, of Boston, spoke of the experi- ments recently made in manuring, in answer to the recommendation of the State Board of Agri- culture. Fourteen persons had undertaken and completed the three years course, and the results are to ajjpear in his forthcoming report. Mr. Flower, of Agawam, said that manure is the life of the farmer, and that every farmer should endeavor to make as much as ])ossible. He throws all his manure under a shed, and al- lows his hogs to root it over thoroughly. He thought the best way was to plough in bis man- ure, and tlien to apply some in the hill. This starts the crop quickly, and carries it through the entire season. Mr. Drew, of the Ploughman, referred to his experience in the use of burnt turf and peat ashes, and said he wouldn't give one bushel of wood ashes for a hundred from peat. He had used all the ashes from twenty cords of peat upon a gar- den of about one hundred feet square, and never saw any lienefit from the application. He be- lieved in the application of the peat itself to up- lands, and had repeatedly seen its good eflects — even for years after its application. In regard to superphosphates, he wished that we might have more carefully conducted experiments to prove their actual value. He cautioned farmers against placirig too much confidence in the concentrated manures of commerce. Mr. Wetherell, of the Cultircrtor, had exper- imented some with superphosjjhates — Coe's & Rhode's — and they did not pay for the labor of using them. His brother had tried them, and found the grass crop doubled. He experimented with superphosphate, plaster, lime, hen manure, and barn manure, and the superphosphate gave the best crops of all. Mr. MosELY, of S])ringfield, believed that guano was a valuable fertilizer, and was best on light soils. He mentioned an experiment where it had proved of no value on one side of a road, while directly oi)posite it had a manifest benefit on the same kind of croji. He thought that suitd was a better al)sorbing material than muck. It was easier procured, and he ihouglit it was equally as valuable. He believed it was economy to sta- ble cows at night in the summer. He mentioned a case where an acquaintance bedded sixteen horses entirely with sand. This was composted with plaster, and applied to a tobacco crop with great results. Mr. Kendall, of Boylston, said that until within about five years he had made his manure in the barn-yard. He now thinks that by so do- ing he lost one-half its value. Latterly he uses large quantities of soil to mix with the droppings in the stable. (He stables his cows at night throughout the summer.) By this method he 112 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Apeil doubles both the quantity and value of his manure heap. He always ploughs in his manure. Mr. GoLDTHWAiT, of Longmeadow, believed that sand was of great value, as a "divisor and absorbent." He made large use of it for that pur- pose. He argued that it cost much less than muck, was more easily handled, and was equally as valuable. (So the reporter understood the drift of his remarks.) For the New England Farmer. PLANTING AN ORCHARD. In INIay last I set out about three acres to ap- ple trees, the result of which was so favorable that I am induced to give the details of the operation for the benefit of those who may contemplate set- ling trees, and desire the experience of others in deciding on the most proper method of doing it. Before pi'oceeding to the statement, however, I would suggest that every one should select their own trees, or obtain some reliable man to do so for them. However honest the nursery-man may be, it is rarely the case that trees not selected by the purchaser give full satisfaction. Some will be found crooked and misshapen — roots mutilated, or some serious defect about them in the eyes of the purchaser. I confess to this folly myself. Contracting for ti'ees two years from the bud, and all good, straight trees, well rooted, &c., I got many that were three and four years old and de- ficient in roots. Some were even eaten through with the canker worm, and condemned as worth- less. But to the setting. I laid out the ground so as to allow thirty-two feet space each way between the rows, — dug the holes eight feet in diameter and two feet deep, — put the surface soil by itself and threw aside the subsoil. After the holes were dug, I put all the surface soil in the bottom of the holes, which raised them in most cases sufficiently for the trees to set upon. I then hauled from one corner of the lot, where two roads crossed each other, a wash deposit from the roads and slopes converging there, and set the trees in it, — most carefully spreading out the fibrous roots and filling in all interstices with the very finest of the material used. This mud wash was thrown up in piles the fall previous for the action of the frost upon it to pulverize, &c. After the trees were well set with this, I had a space to fill all round the holes to the depth of four inches at the outer edge, and about half that depth at the centre, which I filled up with good muck, dug the year previous. As it was late in the season when the trees were set, I feared that dry weather might injure or kill them. I mulched with bog, or fresh hay. As the season was very dry here, this precaution proved to be a wise one, as I lost but one tree of the whole set out. Owing to the ab- sence of rain the growth was very slow until mid- summer— after that unusually fast. I have now some fears that the growth continued so late into the autumn that the winter may injure the imma- ture wood. What some term the Hessian bug, made sad work with the leaves of many of the trees, espe- cially the least hardy, apparently killing some of them. These I cut ofi' about the fourth of July. Some of these, after that, sent out shoots from one to about four feet in length, which I regard as quite remarkable. For the winter protection of the trees, I took away the mulching and filled up around the trunk to the depth of eighteen inches with muck, which I propose spreading in the spring, putting ashes with it, and dig in slightly to the soil, which is a sandy loam for the most part. I will state that I do not approve of lifting or shaking the tree when setting, to straighten the roots or work the loam around them. I verily believe it results in evil and only evil. As you draw up the tree, of course those roots that were well spread and straight are hauled out of place, and of necessity crami)ed and crooked as it set- tles. The loam should never be throion on to the roots or against the tree — as in the one case it cannot be properly worked in among the roots, and in the other will displace the tree from its true position in the row. o. K. Rochester, Dec, 1862. OPEN AIR GRAPE CULTURE. In the Farmer of July last, we gave three or four illustrations of the management of the vine in open air grape culture, from a new work on the subject, by Mr. John Phin. We present two or three illustrations now, feeling that we cannot bet- ter supply a general want of our readers than in so doing — for it is not the gardener only, who feels it, nor the farmer or mechanic, for the day la- borer, even, who owns his rood of land, has be- come satisfied that the perfect grape is liealthful in its culture, ornamental in its ^j)Zace, exceedingly yratcful and restorative to tht sick, and wholesome as an article of food for persons of all ages. There is no mystery whatever in its cultivation, and none should be deterred from attempting it from a fear that they shall not succeed. Indeed, some of the best examples of its success may oft- en be found in the door-yard of some person who does not own four square rods of land, but who supplies the three important things which the vine needs — namely, a moderately rich, vioist, not wet, porous soil — shelter from high winds, and constant attention in pruning and cultivation. Mr. Phin says : The vines having been carefully taken up and the holes properly prepared to receive them, the next step is to set them out, and in doing this the following points require special attention : 1. That the roots be disposed in their new lo- cation as nearly as possible in the same position that they occupied before their removal. 2. That some fine, friable, mellow mould be placed in immediate contact with the roots. 3. That no fresh manure or decomposing organ- ic matter be allowed to come in direct contact with the plant under any circumstances whatever. 4. That the soil be firmly packed about the roots, no air spaces being left. In doing this, however, do not tread down the plant Avith your whole weight, as you will thus be very apt to tear off some of the roots, but work the sail in with your hand or a pointed sticli. In general it will be well to insert the plants a little deeper in the soil than they were previously, 1863. NEW EXGL.^ND FARMER. 113 as, owing to the mutilation which of necessity takes place, a greater draught is made upon the roots for moisture than they can support when thus shortened, if they are placed near the sur- face. But this point requires the exercise of dis- cretion, and a good substitute for deeper planting ■will be thorough mulching. As roots always spring from a bud or joint, and rarely from the internode or portion between the buds, the mode of propagation by which the plant has been produced will exert considerable influence upon the 7nodus operandi of setting it out. ii«»^N^\v In figure 1 is shown the proper disposition of the roots of a young plant raised from a seed or from a single eye. In this case the roots all pro- ceed from within a short distance of each other, and from the base of the stem. In set'ing out such a plant, the better plan is to throw a shovel- ful or two of fine mould on the bottom of the hole, so as to form a conical heap, the top of which «hould be just at a suitable height to support the base of the stem in its proper ])osition. Then, having placed the plant on the toj) of this little mound, spread out all the roots equally and natu- rally over its side and fill in with pulverized soil, being careful to pack the soil firmly around the roots, yet still leaving it mellow and porous. The soil ought to be raised some inches above the surrounding ground, the amount depending upon the size and depth of the hole dug. All fill- ing in is apt to sink, and unless this is done, the plant may be found after a few weeks to be too low. Some, however, prefer to have the plant set in a hollow, claiming that a basin is thus formed which catches and retains the rain. We would rather rely upon good mulching for obtaining the requisite amount of moisture, but if this is dis- pensed with, and recourse had to the former plan, ■R-e should prefer to have the hollow or basin in the form of a ring ai'ound the edge of the hole, leaving the stem surrounded with a little mound which will shed the rain. The stem is thus kept dry, and the moisture is guided just where it is 4S^!!^ Fio. 2. ■wanted, viz : to the extremity of the roots. Fig- ure 2 gives a sectional view of the soil so arranged. AVhen vines have been raised from cuttings con- sisting of several eyes or joints, there will in gen- eral be several layers of roots — the plants having the appeai-ance shown in figure 3. In this case it will be nccessarj- to proceed as directed for plants from eyes in so far as the low- er layer of roots is concerned — the upper layers ^^A^'^^ Fig. 3. being held up while this is done. After the first layer has been properly covered, th.o next layer is laid on the surface of the soil which covers the lower layer, and after bein? pro])urly disjioscd is covered in turn, which process is repeated until uU roots are imbedded in the s&ii. EXTRACTS AND KEPHES. AHOHTIOX IX cows — DISEASED TIGS. In year issue of Jan. 24th I find some remarks con- cerning cows losing their young. In the Albany Cultivator, for Ju'.j', 1S'j2, is a cuuininnicalion which relates to the subject. The theory is iliat the di.-ease is caused by the bull. A cow by fijrliting, or by some ;;ccident, loses her calf. She will bo in heat in two or three days. The linll is sullorcd to go to her while her organs arc diseased. He afterwards serves healthy cows, and coinmunicitcs the dit pleasant ami i)rotita- ble appendages of a farm. Suppose siuli an orchard to contain forty trees to an afie. Is it unrea.'ionublo to suppose that it will yield three barrels of apples to a tree annually ? In what way can the land be more advantageously used ? I have trees that h:ivc yielded apples of the value of live dollars a year, for the last ten years, and this without any extra care or culture. Let his orchard do this, and I believe it would be the best use of his land that can be made. v. THE BEST ONIOX TO SOW. In answer to the inrpiiry of S. A. G., of Lawrence, in your last, I will inform him, from experience una observation, that the true Danvers Thick, or Oval Onion, is the most profitable as a market crop ; a.s tlicy are very productive bearers, and measure much l)et- ter than other varieties. This variety is raised al- most univcrsallv in this pait of the country. Salem, Feb., 1863. J- S. Ives. 114 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Aprii For the New England Farmer. DOGS, GUSTS, RODS. Mil. Editor : — I am a farmer, heart, soul and hands. I work with a mIU in my vocation. I am proud to be a hard-fisted, strong-armed, brown- faced tiller of the soil. It is my ambition to keep the largest amount, and the best quality of live stock in town, according to my acres, and of course to raise the largest and best crops for the size of my farm ; and I do it, too, as the figures will show on the records of our club. How do I do it? "Why, by taking and reading the New Emjlaad Farmer, Country Genileman, HoriicuUurid, and oth- er periodicals and standard works pertaining to the business of a farmer. I study them just as a builder would study Avorks on architecture, an apothecary the Pharmacopoeia or Dispensatory, or tlie physician or lawyer works on their professions. And here is the secret of my success. I would earnestly recommend and advise all who are en- gaged in agricultural pursuits, whether in a large or small way, to study their profession. It will be for their interest to do so ; it will bring money into their pockets and respectability into their houses and neighborhoods. To excel, will give them influence in the community among whom they live, and a position to be envied among their townsmen. Although I work, as I stated in the beginning of this article, still I am in favor of a reasonable amount of recreation at proper times ; and I have it and enjoy it. I am fond of gunning and fishing ; I am fond of a good, well-trained dog, and I am happy to say that I possess one who understands his business. Show Pete a gun and he is on his muscle at once ; and while I do not allow a small bird to be killed on my premises, still, at proper seasons, whatever is recognized by the statutes as "game," must look sharp or I have them. Now I will tell you what I had in my mind when I commenced this article. As farmers cannot af- ford to take more than two or three papers, and yet want a varied amount of information, I have thought that if you would devote a part or the whole of a column occasionally to the dog, gun and rod, it would give additional interest to your already invaluable paper. I do not want our boys to be encouraged to shoot everything that wears feathers ; on the contrary, tell them to "spare the birds." But well engraved portraits of those rec- ognized as game, also portraits of all useful breeds of dogs, with descriptions of them, would be very interesting to many of your readers. Brook and pond fishing would also interest the boys, and is certainly a pleasant and healthful rec- reation, and to kill a "trout, who swims in speck- led pride," is verily an accomplishment. I read with much interest and pleasure the articles you have published on ornithology, as well as every- thing else that appears in your paper. Your friend and constant reader, from the days of good old father Fess.mden until to day, Lauderdale, Feb., 1863, j. l. m. Reinurks. — Excellent. Not only full of just the right kind of pluck and fire, but every senti- ment is such as beats responsive in our own bosom. We, too, love the gun, the dog and the rod, and our old English "double-barrel" is among the things that we should last part with. It has often been the source of health, amusement and "sovie- tliing good to eat." The quail, deer and wild tur- keys have often heard from it to their sorrow, over a considerable portion of that splendid country from the base of the Cumberland Mountains to the lower end of Chesapeake Bay, a country now del- uged with human blood, and destroyed by fire and sword. Many a day have we tramped M'ith it in hand through the Mount Vernon forests, or on the opposite Maryland shores, or sported among the ducks on the broad bosom of the Potomac itself. It was on these occasions that we learned the strong instincts and the deep gratitude of the dog. We love him still, — and yet, we sacrifice all our partiality to the public good. If all dogs were like yours, and kept in proper retirement, the probability is that little damage would be done by them. Will you set us an example of such articles as you would like to see in the Farmer, on the sub- ject of gun, dog and rod ? Do so. Fo] the Neio England Farmer, THE OLD FOLKS OF THE STABLE. No off"ence is intended by the heading of tliis article, to the old folks at home. The writer has no thought of ousting them from their cozy quar- ters under the family roof, and stowing them away in the barn, to make room for the young folks. He would ratlier bespeak for them all a "sweet home" to cheer their winter of life, and many a comfortable doze in the old arm-chair, through the long winter's evening, in blissful unconscious- ness of trouble or care. But old age is not pecu- liar to human life, though it claims in this connec- tion peculiar reverence. Yonder stands the family horse. He is not yet of age, and will never live long enough to be his own master. He is but two or three years past "sweet sixteen," and still the knowing ones call him old. And there lies the family cov/, quietly chewing her cud, with none to molest or make her afraid. According to the standard of us mortals, she is but a young miss yet, just entering her teens. But yet she is a great-grandmother, and of course, she, too, must be set down as aged. If she could only "haul in her horns," she might, like other females of a higher grade, disguise her real age ; but those bony projections tell the un- flattering tale. It is curious to contrast the pro- gressive development of the mortal and the brute. The mere boy looks at the horse, who was born on the same day with him, and wonders that the beast should be growing old, while he has so many years left for growing young. And now the boy is re- joicing in the flush of early manhood — but how is it with the horse that was a sucking colt when he was a puling babe ? Almost through with life's cares and labors, when he is but just entering on them ! Poor old fellow, to have so short a lease of life ! Yonder toddles a wee bit of a girl to- wards the barnyard gate, to peep at the now-born calf inside. Strange to say, that maternal heifer, so jealously nurturing her offspring, came into the world the same day with that little, wondering, innocent, held in its father's arms. And by-and- by the gleeful maiden will be frolicking about, 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 115 while her cotemporary of the yard stands demure- ly looking on, with joints too stiff almost to move. Thus whole generations of domestic animals rise and full M'liile one of ours is i-ising. And yet this brief life is all they have, whilst ours stretches on through endless ages ! _ But enough of sentiment, and now for the prac- tical application. What shall be done with the old horse and cow ? Don't have anything to do with such creatures, say some, but contrive to transfer your live stock into other hands before it gets old. Suppose, however, you have a family horse that is giving you the best of his strength and endurance, but is all the while advancing in years. You cannot blame him for this — it is as much a law of nature to the beast as to his master. The fountain of perpetual youth is as much a myth to him as to you ; and worse than this, he seems to leap at one bound from youth to age. He tries hard, when let loose, to leap back again. He will throw up his heels and curvet and play shy, but the old fellow makes clumsy work of his early coltish tricks. Clad in harness, his age will betray itself, in spite of pa- tent leather and silver plating. Prick up ears and tail as he may, at starting in the crisp morning air, he will pretty soon be dragging his slow length along despite all your coaxing and lashing, till his head is turned towards home. All the fire left in him is not sufficient to "get up steam" more than to fulfil for his driver the apostolic injunction, "Let your moderation be known unto all men." But he is of some use after all. Age, indeed, does not invariably hinder speed, and you will see, now and then, an experienced road-horse outstrip his younger brethren. This, however, is the ex- ception. Aged, as well as large bodies, are apt to move slow. We, of this fust age, get out of pa- tience with slow coaches, but when you really want to enjoy new and beautiful scenery, and chat leisurely by the way with your traveling compan- ion, how convenient it is to be driving an old, steady-going nag ! What a favorite, too, he is •with all but fast women ; ana just the team to trust your wife and children with. Neither will he be balking and shying when put to serious farm-work, and frittering away his strength in needless starts and plunges, but plods patiently through the day, and evening sometimes, like a good and faithful servant. How fruitful, as well as useful, old age may be, if the animal in ques- tion be a mare. She not only serves her own gen- eration but posterity besides, renewing her youth through a succession of colts. Meanwhile the cow is growing old, and what shall be done with her ? Hurry her up, say some, for slaughter before the beef gets any tougher. Ah, what a thankless lot is this of the cow, that her "milky way" should only have been leading to the butcher ! No wonder her milk is sometimes streaked with blood, in anticipation. The writer confesses himself in a quandary over an aged cow. She still lives and eats, and returns from her ud- der a fair equivalent ; and what her milk loses in quantity, with the lapse of years, it appears to gain in quality. Her owner, however, needs but one good cow, and that he is likely to have in the smart, plump looking heifer by her side. So the elder of the two is probably to be sacrificed, though she has no suspicion of it yet. And if nobody will buy her for the dairy, there is no alternative but for her to drop suddenly to rest, one of these days, in that sure haven fur aged kine, the slaughter- house. Let me, however, recommend to the farm- er who has plenty of fodder and stal)lc room, to keep the valuable steeil, or cow, that has grown old on his hands. And would it not be well for us all to show a little more reverence for our do- mestic animals that have unfortunately passed their prime ? 1 have associated witli llie stul)le a term that probably belongs to the house ; but the "old folks" have by this time discovered my mo- tive. It was not to detract from the respect and affection that is ever their due, nor to abate one jot of the tender care they have a right to expect from their children and ch'ildren's cliildren. Only let not such regard begin and end with them. When you have done "pitying the sorrows of a poor old man," pay a visit 'to the barn, and see if there be not some venerable object there, also, for your pity and regard ; and remember in that connection old age may not only be green, but also be made to blossom and bear fruit. Feb., 1863. \\. e. b. FiiT the New Emjlaml Farmer. HINTS ON BUILDING E-^JlNS— No. 3. The barn is the building next in importance to the house, and the same objects should be kept ia view in its construction, viz., convenience and du- rability. The location should be on dry ground, and as near the house as possible, and not ex])ose it to danger from fire. If possible, it should be on the same side of the highway as the house, which may be said of all other buildings, as they are more convenient to the house, and a dozen steps saved every day, makes a long journey in the course of a life-time. The most a])i)roved plan of building a barn, is, with a basement and cellar ; ia short, no first-class barns are built now-a-days without them, and it is much the cheajjer to build in that way, as the extra room gained, is worth double the extra cost. In building the basement walls, spare no ])ains to make them solid, for here is where the ruin of most barns commence. Not one of my readers but what can look around his neighljorhood, and see more or less barns all out of shape, and some falling down, and all in consequence of imperfect foundations. The same hint is applicable to this wall that was recommended for the house cellar, viz., to dig a trench under the wall, and a drain from that, and fill with pounded stone so that the cellar shall be dry. The size of the barn should be regulated by the size of the farm, and should be large enough to hold all the grain raised, and some of the hav. A large floor is indispensable f(n- convenience la threshing, but should not be used for a carriage- house, as many firmors do, to their great disad- vantage, and the abuse of their carriages and wag- ons. The stables, which ought to be in the base- ment, should be arranged so as to feed from the floor above, which will save a vast amount of la- bor in carrying hay and straw. Good inch boards put on up and down and bat- tened, are better than common siding, which is li- able to split and get torn off, and is not as tight as the former way. It is contended by some, that siding looks better, but I disagree with them there, as it is a theory of mine, that the beauty of an object of that kind consists in its durability and 116 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April adaptation to the pui-pose for which it was con- structed, rather than mere appearance. In any case, use good materials, and have the work well done, and you will probably have a barn as long as you live, provided no accident befalls it. i A necessars' fixture to a barn is the cattle-yard, ! which should be on the south or east side, for two reasons, viz : it is warmer for the cattle, and the ice thaws out sooner in the spring, so that the ' manure can be drawn earlier. It should be as : small as possible and accommodate the stock you wish to keep, as it gives you better control over i the cattle, and you have the manure on less i ground, making it more convenient getting it. | The fence should be of boards, made tight, and ; sufficiently high to prevent the possibility of any . animals jumping over. If it can be done with- i out too great expense, water should be kept run- ^ ning in the yard, but if this is not practicable, a j well should be dug. After the yard is laid out, ! and before the fence is built, take the plough and ; scraper and make some spot in the yard, wher- i ever the most convenient, considerably lower than [ the rest of the yard, which must descend towards _ this spot. Into this reservoir may be thrown suds, muck, straw, weeds; and any refuse matter at j hand, to absorb the liquid manure settling into it, , and thus save a vast amount of valuable manure, \ which nine-tenths of farmers waste. Thousands, yea, tens of thousands of dollars are thrown away j annually in this manner, which one day's work in ; most cases would have saved. One-half of the barns are built on a knoll, and i near a stream of water, the yard being left in a j state of nature, thereby letting the best part of i the manure run off into the stream. Now I ap- 1 prove of putting the barn on high and dry ground, and I do not care how near to the stream, for that is all the more convenient, and the higher the ground, the better the yard, but do not leave it in the shape of a cone, uuless you wish to ruin your farm. Do not have a pair of bars near the barn, ; or house, but supply their place by good, strong ' gates, by which yen will save much time, and per- I haps some vexation of spirit. An indispensable . adjunct to the barn are eave troughs, with conduc- i tors attached, to carry the water down into the j cistern, as a drain to carry it off. It is, also, a I good plan to have a room, either in the basement or on the floor, for storing farm implements, such as ploughs, haiTows, hay-racks, and all other tools when not in use. The better way is to have a building for that purpose, but as the young farm- er cannot have all these things, he must make the best use of what he has, and it is far better to have such a room in the barn than none at all. Should there be sheds attached to the barn, they should be made to form part of the yard fence on the side most exposed to the cold winds, thus keeping the yard warmer. If sheep and cattle are both kept in the same yard, they should be separ- ated by a fence across the yards, and sheep ought always to have a good warm shed to run under in winter. In conclusion, I would say, keep the bam well painted, and if a board gets loose, or any tiling out of place, repair it immediately, and your barn will have the appearance of a new barn for many years. Agiucultukist. Xcw York, Feb., 1862, HOW COAL IS FOKMED. The land on which coal plants grew has passed away ; no human eye will see their like again — no human eye saw them, no human hand touched a leaf of these gigantic trees and forms. No lim- ner's art ever portrayed those dense forests, nor surveyor's pen mapped down the broad estates on which they rankly grew. But certainly as the rays of light tell us of burning metals in the sun, so will the segregation of the earthy paiticles into which their long and creeping roots penetrated the bedding of the grains of sand and clay which intimately covered them up, tell us the story of the ancient physical condition, imder whose iutiu- ence lifeless trunks, and leaves and boughs be- came converted into coal. Low were those ancient lands, surrounded by marsh swamps, bounded by shallow estuaries, up which salt sea water gently rose and fell ; one can scarcely speak of tide, so smoothly between the stems and undergrowth of water loving tree rushes, and through the tangled jungle it sluggish- ly flowed. Into the muddy waters of estuary and lakes, and on the oozy ground around, the leaves fell year by year, as autumn chills unclothed the trees. As the trees too, in the roll of time, rotted at their bases by the watery medium in which they grew, toppled over, and became immersed in the boggy soil under a surface coating of ferns and humbler plants, mixed with mosses ; the rank herbage ever growing, rotting and fermenting. Green and verdant at the top, dark, black, heated and distiUing out from the decaying vegetable matter, globules of bitumen below, to mingle with and penetrate the half-rotted, closely-matted mass of leaves and fibres, and of porous wood. Thus Avas the coal-seam formed. It was not open to the day until it had dried into the turf, or rotted into soil. But it was covered up at a certain stage of its elaboration, and preserved for human use. It may have completed in the earth the process of its conversion into coal, but it was originally the produce of the debris of a living vegetation buried under a covei-ing of mud. The accumula- tion might have long been going on near the sur- face, new bitumen seci-eting below ; going on for ages before the mass was buried in. Covered in at last, stratum after stratum of mud and sand are piled over it, the weight of the superincum- bent materials presses down the spongy fibrous upper part of the future coal-seam into the bitu- minous lower portion, the semi-fluid bitumen is squeezed upwards among the compressed fibres, and forced into the pores of the wood, the thick- ness of the vegetable bed is reduced, and it be- comes an almost solid mass of wood and vegeta- ble fibre, impregnated with the bitumen distilled from itself. If it had parted with its gases and bitumen before it had been covered in, it might have become fossil heat. But coal, the produce would never have been. Briefly, then, such was the origin of coal. This view of the matter ex- cludes at once the anthi-acites from any right to the terra of coal. Next, to dispose of the lignites. Lignites may, or may not at some futui-e time — ages to come — be converted into coal. They are not coal yet ; they are still ligneous. The wood structure is so well preserved in the brown coal of Switzerland and Germany, that in some places it is used for rafters, beams, and oth- er building purposes. The stages of elaboration 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 117 are not yet complete, which are requisite for the production of cual. It is the babe, not the man. Anthracite has lost its bitumen. It is the corpse. It might have been coal once, it is less now. Shale is the path on which the corpse was laid. It may be saturated with its blood, but it is not the body. For the Kew England Farmer. RETKOSPECTIVE NOTES. « \Vnm:K Managemk.nt of Sheep. — On page 45 of the February number of this journal, those interested in raising sheep and growing wool — and who is not at the present time ? — will find an interesting and instructive quotation from an arti- cle by Mr. Fay, of Lynn, Mass., printed in the last Patent Office Report. So few, comparatively, of the readers of the Farmer are likely to see Mr. Fay's essay, that it appears as if the present quo- tation could not fail to have made hundreds of, readers desire to have more of it iu the same way — the only way in which the bulk of them are like- ly to obtain the benefit of the experience of so ju- dicious and reliable an instructor. So many are rushing into the business of wool- growing that mistakes must be made from igno- rance, inexperience, and other like causes, from which disappointments and losses are almost cer- tain to follow ; and as from some special interest in the readers of the New England Farmer, we would fain rescue them from such blunders and disappointments, we have been induced to call their attention to the article under notice, and for their prospective benefit, to make the suggestions somewhat reluctantly ventured. As there is nothing stated in the quotation from Sir. Fay's essay, which would be likely to give the readers thereof any idea of one great source of danger in the wintering of sheep, we would here make a remark wliich may save some sicknesses and deaths in their flocks. The danger just re- ferred to is that of the occurrence of sickness and death from what is usually designated ''the stretch- es." From this disease we lost almost all the sheep that we did lose during the first years of our keeping sheep. Our losses and the rarity of a re- covery after a sheep was once attacked with this disease, led us to investigate its causes, and to dis- cover, if possible, efficient modes of prevention. This we think we have accomplished pretty thor- oughly, if not perfectly. Having made ourself very sure that the disease is caused by the want of proper action of the bowels, and that this is caused by the exclusive, or almost exclusive use of dry feed, it was but a short step to reach the conclusion that the most probably efficient method of prevention would be one which would counter- act cost'.veness, and bring the bowels into a con- dition somewhat approaching to that which is usu- 1 al when sheep have the succulent feed of spring and summer. Accordingly roots were thereafter grown in sufficient quantity to give all our sheep a full feed at noon, about twice or thrice a week, when not prevented by excessively cold weather. Troughs were also provided in which salt was al- ways kept Avithin reach of the sheep, and more pains were taken to have water made easily ac- cessible. The result of the adoption of this meth- od of prevention has been a complete disappear- ance of this once formidable disease, and an es- cape from the losses previously caused by it. We havfi nppisinnallv niixpfl nshes and sulnhnr with the salt, and have also fed bran and oil cake as ad- juvants to the relaxing quality of the rooUs, but we ascribe the disappearance of "the stretches" main- ly to the use of roots, and are confirmed in this opinion by a piece of information lately receive>•.- England Farmer. EAISING MUSHROOMS. To be successful in raising mushrooms at this season of the year, a warm, dry cellar is necessary. 1. The mushroom spawn, the best kind and purest, can be obtaineil at the agricultural seed stores, in the shape of bricks. 2. A wood frame, four feet wide, and not less than four feet iu length, will do, but you may go to any length you please, said frame to be thirteen inches high. 3. Fresh horse manure from the stable, where the horses are fed with grain, without any litter amongst it, is the best for the bed ; the manure must not be frozen. 4. Making the bed. — The manure mnst be well broken up and beat down solid in the frame, with- in an inch of the top ; that is, the manure will be twelve inches deep ; about the centre of the bed push down a pointed stick to the bottom of the bed, and from time to time take out the stick, and feel of it ; the whole that goes into the bed ; you will, by so doing, ascertain how the heat progress- es. When the rank heat begins to subside, the bed will soon be ready for the spawn ; as soon as the heat is sweet and moderate, spawn the bed at once, as follows : make your rows six inches apart and two inches deep, the spawn being broken up into lumps the si^e of a walnut ; ])laut the spawn six inches apart in the row, cover the spawn and smooth tlie bed evenly ; then half an inch of fine light earth finishes the work. A thin covering of clean straw on the bed will preserve the heat. Finally, if the work is well done, and the spawn is good, there is no fear ot not having mushrooms. James M. Russell. Ndsnn, X. II., Feb., 1863. The Ccxture of Flax. — English papers are agitating the subject of an increased attention to the culture of flax as an ofi"set to the scarcity of cotton. Machinery has been perfected for its manufacture both here and in Europe, and a per- manent nrosneritv will pn f1r..iKt -^^..u 118 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April SAND. This earth derives its name from silex. It is one of the most abundant of the original earths, and distinguished by the circumstance of its form- ing "%utreous earth," or glass, when combined with alkalies. Quartz is almost entirely composed of silex. The old chemists supposed it to be the primitive earth, and it was hence denominated the "elementary earth," from which all the other vari- eties of soil proceeded. It exists in nature much more abundantly than any of the other earths, and is a constituent of all hard stones which emit sparks when struck with a steel ; "in the enor- mous mountain masses of granite, porphjTy and gneiss," as of the boundless accumulations of sand in deserts and plains. In all of these silex is a preponderating ingredient. Verj* few stones are entirely destitute of silica, and it is found in the ash of almost every plant after burning, which leaves only the mineral ingredients, the other con- stituents being destroyed by combustion. Gi'asses contain it in very liberal and even hirge propor- tions sometimes, as do also the straw of wheat, rye, oats and other cereals — the stalks of the corn plant, &c. It has also been detected in the skin of animals. It is, however, but rarely found in a state of absolute purity. Even in quartz, which is mostly composed of it, we detect both alumina and oxide of iron. It probably does not exist in nature in a state of perfect drjTiess from extrane- ous matters, and it is only by artificial processes that it can be exhibited in its purity. In the lab- , oratory of the chemist it is to be seen in the form of a "fine, white powder, adhering a little to the fingers, and exhibiting a kind of gritty roughness when pressed or rubbed. It is totally devoid of both taste and smell. It undergoes no changes when subjected to the action of fij-e, and neither fuses nor volatilizes, whatever degree- of heat may be applied." It has no affinity for water, and cannot be dis- solved even in the minutest portion, unless through the agency of an intermediate body, but when mixed with water, it immediately precipitates, and no part of it is left in solution. No acid, except the fluoric, is capable of acting upon, or dissolv- ing it. It may be boiled in sulphuric, nitric or muriatic acid, without even the minutest portion of it being taken up. With fluoric acid it forms a gaseous compound, and when the acid is evap- orated, goes with it. It does not imbibe water with avidity, and this fact shows why sandy soils, or those which contain a preponderating quantity of silex, are generally so dry and so incapable of sustaining vegetable life, except when filled with humus, or some similar substance which possesses absorbent and retentive powers. All the fixed al- kalies, however, possess the power of readily unit- ing with and dissolving it ; hence the utility of alkalescent applications on sandy lands, and the powerful agency they exert in promoting the de- velopment of the straw of wheat, oats and other grain crops, to the perfection of which silex is es- sential. Silex, or siUca, is an ingredient of fel- spar and mica. Felspar, by Von Thaer's tables, is composed of » Paris. Silica ,. .^ .,♦»». . . . .^^ ,^». .62.82 Alumina 17.02 Lime 3.00 Oxide of iron 1.00 Potash 13.00 Loss 3.19 Total ..100.00 In common mica we find Parts. Silica ^. ......... ....,.-, ►,-.-. .47 .00 Alumina 20.00 Oxide of iron ^ 15.55 Oxide of magnesia 1.70 Potash 14.55 Loss 1.2d Total 100,00 Sand is of thi'ee varieties, as classified by geol- ogists, viz., river sand, pearl sand and moving sand. The first presents a fine, clear, colorless grain ; the second is composed of larger grains, which are spherical shaped and semi-transparent. The po- sition of this variety is generally subterranean, but it is often washed up by running water. The third is composed of gi'ains of divers size and shape, and not unfrequently a mixture of calcare- ous matter with it. Von Thaer, in his "Principles of Agriculture," in speaking of this earth, says : "Although the grains of sand are, for the most part, composed of silica, they always contain small portions of alumina and oxide of iron. Sand has as little attraction for water as pure silica, and thence, as well as its not having the attraction of cohesion for /;i{??ii<.?, arises the sterility that attends soils composed in too large proportions of thia earth. AVhen the sand is united into hard masses by adhesive matter, such as clay or lime, or by mechanical compression, it is called 'sand stone.* There are various kinds of this substance, all va- rying from each other in fineness and density. They are taken out of the ground in a soft state, and cut for building purposes ; to make door jambs and window sills ; also, mill stones and wheels for grinding and polishing tools, are made of them." The sand stone was formerly scarce. It is now procured from Saxony, and is an important arti- cle of commerce. Sandy lands should, if possible, when intended for cultivation, be dressed with clay. Some of the best and most productive soils in New Eng- land owe their extreme fertility to this process, and are thereby fitted for growing every descrip- tion of vegetable with greater success and certain- ty as to maturation of crop, than many of our best &oils. The quantity of clay which may be necessary thoroughly to ameliorate sandy lands, will, of 1R63. NEW ENGLAXD FARMER. 119 course, be decided by their geological character. The poorest lands require a large amount, while those which are less sterile may be Yery greatly improved by a small amount. Capital can in no way be more lucratively invested than in redeem- ing lands by this process, when clay can be con- veniently obtained. To Correspondents. — Thanks to our relia- ble, intelligent and obliging friends, for numerous excellent contiibutions to the columns of the Farmer. As is usually the case, the winter is our harvest season, for this important crop. We are not able to publish as fast as received, but shall select those that are the most seasonable, and pub- lish first ; that is, inquiries and replies to inquiries, and articles that especially relate to spring work, such as gardening, sowing, planting fields, trans- planting trees, &c., &c. Others that are received are just as applicable at one time as another, as they may discuss principles, or may best treat of summer or autumnal work. "Queryman" will please observe this, and feel assured that his articles are always acceptable. We shall be glad of the "reports" to which he re- fers, for publication bj'-and-by, when correspond- ents are specially employed in out-door labors. Massachtsetts Horticultural Society. — A meeting of this Society was holden on the 3d of January, at which the Hon. Joseph Breck retired from the President's chair, and introduced C. M. HovEY, Esq., as his successor. On assum- ing the chair, Mr. Hovey made an excellent speech, speaking of the former prosperity and high character of the Society, and then foreshad- owed what ought to be its future eSbrts and pur- poses. His remarks were singularly judicious and practical, and will undoubtedly have an in- fluence upon the future operations of this good old Society. The Agricultural Interest. — It is assert- ed by those the most competent to judge of the matter, that the agricultural interest of the coun- trj' embraces ninety per cent, of tlie entire weaUli of tlie country. The Best Apples. — At a late meeting of the Worcester Horticultural Society, the subject dis- cussed was the best kind of apples for general cultivation, and after much and valuable discus- sion, the members agreed upon the following tv^elve kinds : Mother, Hubbardston Nonsuch, llhode Island Greening, Baldwin, Roxbury Rus- set, Tolman's Sweeting, Red Astrachan, liuchess of Oldenburg, Williams Early, Early Bough, Por- ter and Gravenstein. E^* The 12.000 acres of land to which Rhode Island is entitled under the law for the establish- ment of agricultural colleges has been located in Kansas. F!1200 per acre from his currant crop among his a|)ple trees. He manured thoroughly. Mr. Tower, of Lanesboro', said much atten- tion is given to fruit culture in his town. One nurseryman recommends to set trees 16 feet apart; another 2d feet apart. He grew roots among his trees. In eleven years his Greening trees have grown to 24 inches in circumference, the best growers he has ; they bear well ; the Baldwin is the earliest bearer. He sets out about 10 plum trees every year, and when the knot shows itself he cuts it ofl', no matter when it appears. He has plums plenty. Mr. Chase, of Haverhill, spoke of the impor- tance of the graj)e culture, indorsing Rogers' hy- brids, as also did Col. Wilder. The seventh meeting was held on Tuesday eve- ning, March 3d, Mr. W.VRREX, of Andover, pre- siding. We are again indebted to the Advertiser report : The subject of discussion M'as "^Lnnures and their Applications." Mr. Warren did not believe in applying green manures to the soil. He com- posted his manure and had better results. This was his ex])erience. .Mr. Hubbard, of Sunderland, did not agree with the chair in the application of manure. Ex- perience and observation taught him the reverse of what the chair stated. In compost manures, more, he said, is applied per acre, than when un- composted. Labor is high and it requires much to compost it. He spoke of superphosphates as being too uncertain for farmers to use. He re- commended turning in clover, as a fertilizer, as a cheap way of enricliing soil. Mr. CiwsE, of Haverhill, did not believe in sand as a fertilizer. He mentioned a farmer that had a farm of 39 acres on which a few years ago he cut 10 tons of hay ; it now produces 100 tons. Muck, he deemed a good fertilizer. One cord of manure to two cords of muck, makes a good ma- nure, equal to 3 cords of manure. He recom- mended the use of ashes. John Brooks, of Princeton, deemed the mak- ing of manures more important than the applying of them. He said farmers lose from one-half to two-thirds of their manures. Farmers should try to save their manures, for barnyard manures are the best fertilizers. He spoke favorably of sand as a fertilizer. He gave up composting some years ago. It costs too much. Manure does not go down in the soil. Sand is not an absorbent Mr. MosELY, of Springfield, said that he is pre- pared to say that sand is a fertilizer. Sand is an absorbent and is used in the stable us an absorb- ent. Solid cow manure 'n a poor manure l.j had been told. Sand holds ammonia better thaa muck, as proved by experiment. The fineness of manure is an important quality. He had muck 124 Zn X. U' iiJS Li i^ AJS D JL- Ai v->iA:.xi- Ar.-.-^ in abundance, but preferred sand in the stable. ; There are so many theories about manures that he did not think much is known about its appli- cation. He recommended Mr. Chase, of Haver- hill, to try sand. He recommended the use of : salt in growing mangel wuitzels. Plaster is good for some lands. He did not agree that a crop could be doubled by putting a little compost in the hill. Mr. HrBEARD, of Brimfield, thought that ben- efits would be derived from the differences of opinion expressed here. He deemed plaster as Taluable as guano. Plaster, 200 lbs. per acre, greatly improves pasture land. Some lands are not benefited by it. He recommended muck as a fertilizer. The use of sand was indorsed by Mr. , Habbard. j Mr. HrBB.4JRD, of Sunderland, spoke of a farm- er that said be got a bushel of com from the ap- j plication of a bushel of ashes. i Dr. LoRrsG. of Salem, indorsed barnyard ma- nure, saying it is the basis of all manures. Ma- nure for root crops must be decomposed. He had abandoned muck and preferred sand to it. i Mr. Feaking, of Boston, who farms in Hing- ham. indorsed sand. Plaster and lime is of no value on land. He deemed rockweed very valu- , able. Kelp is valuable but less so than rockweed. Commercial manures he did not Hke. Bone ma- nure he recommended as a fertilizer for pasture land and for growing roots. Salt muck he did • not like, — deemed it detrimental to the soil. He : would ditch salt meadows two feet deep and 30 feet apart. He deemed barnyard manure the best and cheapest of all fertilizers. Bone manure, night soil and compost were tried for com, and the first kind did best. He grew corn for 50 cents a busheL i ! The eighth meeting of this series took place at ' the State House, Monday, March Gth. The Rev. ! Dr. Ha VEX, editor of Zion's Herald, and an hon- ' orable member of the State Senate, presided, and , acknowledged his indebtedness to farmers and farming for what he is physically ; but for his early exposure to the furrow and the air of rural life, he said he should hardly have been raised. j Dr. George B. Emerson, the talented author ; of "TAe Trees and Shrubs of Massachusetts,'' — in itself a monument to our country, — the profound scholar and finished gentleman, introduced the , discussion by inquiring, "Wliat shall he done icifk : iJie appropriation made by Confjress for Afjricvl'u- j ral Education '?- He hoped an institution could be estabhshed and so organized as to do the great- est good to the greatest number. He would not | have anything taught in such a college that can , be taught elsewhere. He thought a professor of forest trees would be desirable ; also one on fish j culture, entomology, tree culture, gardening, kc. > He gave reasons £is he proceeded why these pro- | fessorships would be important and would result in decided advantages to the Commonwealth. Dr. LORIXG, of Salem, said he could add noth- ing to the elaborate plan presented by Mr. Em- erson. There are 30,100 farms in the State, not one of which is carried on in the most economi- cal manner. He had never heard of a graduate : of one of the English agricultural colleges taking , a premium for short horns, or anything else. He wanted a man who could tell us how to improve our soil ; who could tell the Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, even, what to do with a piece of hopeless pasture land he has in Byfield. Mr. Brotvx, of the Xeic England Farmer, said he was not opposed to the establishment of col- leges, professorships, or any institutions of learn- ing that were useful to the people. He read the act of Congress, in relation to agricultural colleg- es, with care, soon after its passage, and he felt obhged to say that it did not strike him favorably ; but he would not enter upon reasons for that opinion then. He found that this great, over- shadowing object, looming up in the distant fu- ture, would lure away the attenrion of the people from the matters of interest and advantage that were in their every day paths. It seemed to him that the cart had got before the horse. We do not need the locomotive until we have a track for it to run upon. Let us lay this frst, then place the steam upon it, touch the "critter" under the flank and "go-ahead I" All, then, will be right. Every farmers son and daughter, he said, has the means of commencing an agricultural educa- cation now, this moment, if they will but improve the means already before them. They know how to read and write — let them put these attainments into practice, by studying some of the excellent works on the great art in which they are engaged, and v^hich are full of sound truths and poetic beauty. Such works are numerous and cheap, and will afford all the instruction that any college can afford, — and it may be gathered before the evening fire, or in the refreshing shade of a tree planted by one's own hands. A little help may occasionally be needed, but that may always be found by the earnest seeker after truth, in some educated person at hand, who would be glad to contribute his aid. Some two or three good books will present all the principles that underlie the art, and as the farmer is usually a close thinker, he would ponder in the fields upon the chapter he read the preced- ing day or evening, compare the teachings with his experience on the farm, and so fix the facts of both upon his mind as never to be forgotten. A reading and reflecting farmer is a hard man to argTie with, if you wish to controvert his opinions. "Beware of the man of one book," is the old Spanish proverb, and it will hold good with the farmer who reads but little. Reading, then, is the first step towards an agricultural education, — and the next is Observation. The farmer should be keen-eyed and quick-eared, seeing and hearing everything that is going on around him. Once or twice a month he should visit others and learn whatever he can glean from them by eye or ear. Thp next is, Fanners' Clubs and Farmers' Talks. Mr. Brown extended his remarks upon these points, giving facts to sustain them. Mr. Flower, of Agawam, endorsed farmers' clubs. Mr. Wetherell, of Boston, said the mind must be prepared for the reception of scientific knowledge, as the soil is for seed. He thought the remark of the speaker who said the best farm- ing is seen in that countrj- where agricultural col- leges receive the least patronage, should be re- membered by all. Much was said by all the speakers which we have not space for. 1863. XEW ENGLAND F.\RMER. 125 A vote of thanks was presented to Farmer .Sheldon, of Wilmington, for a basket of apples of a new variety. It being nameless, it was vot- ed to call it the "Sheldon Apple," On Monday evening, March 16th, was held the Mr. Warren, of Auburn, said the raising of roots in Worcester county had been tried and abandoned. Carrots for horses are too debilitat- ing. He could never mcrease the quantity of milk by feeding carrots to cows. Cattle can be kept . ,, ^ ^. . ^. ,. , ,. , cheaper on hay than anvthing else. Swamp hay ninth meeting of this series. Subject of discus- is ruled out for feeding cattle? sion. Boot Culture. Some of the speakers, we notice, spoke of the Mr. Hubbard said he had raised nine tons of. ^™ount of water contained in rooU as an argu- ruta bagas on a little more than half an acre of j ™^^^ against their use. This does not seem to land. Ploughed in green manure. }J^ ^f sound reasonmg. The potato, for instance, Mr. Howard advocated root culture, because i ^^ '*^ \>i^& in 1C»0 of water, yet, who would re- roots are promotive of health in animals fed on ^^ ^° cultivate this root because it is three-quar- them. The horse is ven* much benefited bv car- ^^" water ? The potato, we esteem as one of the rots. The carrot improves the quality of 'milL I ™°^^ wholesome articles of diet known to man- A loose soil is best suited to the growing of car- [ ^^ contains just about the right proportions of rots. Swedes grow better on tenacious soils, i °"tritive matter to the bulk. .\ man could prob- The common EngUsh turnip is easily grown and i ^^^5* ^^^ ^^^ labor for months — perhaps years — about as good as any of them. "P°" potatoes, salt and water. A dog will live, Mr. Hl-bbard, of Sunderland, said swamp ' ^ ^^if ''^' ^^T\^^ days, fed only upon flour muck is favorable to the growth of English tur- f^^?'but we doubt not he would live long and nips. He top-dressed a sandv hill with muck and • ^°^'^' "P?°.^ plentiful supply of mealv potatoes, grew a fine crop of turnips. " Farmers turn over ' -/f ^ ^^^, ^'^ "^^ -^°?^ ^^"^f. o"- nothing of the sward land from the last of June to the loth of, J?'^ Pnnciple,or pnnciple of life, that lies bevond Julv and raise a good crop of turnips, after hav-l ^?^^ component parts of the food we produce, ingtaken off a crop of hav. f"^^ ^?J ™^ V }f^^' The strong probability Mr. Flint did not succeed in growing carrots f "-^^y ^ "^'^ '^"^^^ ^V^te tne water of potato owin? to weeds. Manured lands are subject J ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^<^^l^ parts, and eat and dnnk them weeds: therefore, before trying to grow roots, this ! ^P^'^i^l""^ should soon die -whereas, eaung ■ Concentrated ma- ; ^^ ^ ^od has prepared it, we should grow hearty and strong. subject should be considered, nures will in a measure overcome this difficultv. He recommended the parsnip. He was unable to see why the sugar beet should not be grown here for making sugar. Mr. Wetherell, of Boston, said, that the question that seems to underlie the subject, is, whether it is economical to grow roots at all, for feeding cattle. He had doubts on the subject. He believed the com crop a more profitable one for feeding cattle than a root crop. Mr. Drew, of Boston, said he grew three bush- els of turnips as easy as one of carrots. This is the usual mistake made in regard to feeding roots to cattle. Why, we are nearly all water ourselves. A stout man has only about 30 pounds of solid matter, and yet he would be es- teemed exceedingly palatable and nutritious to some folks, after all ! Wool Growing. — The attention of the reader is called to an article of unusual interest, on tliis subject, on another page. It is bora, the pen of He re- a gentleman thoroughly acquainted with his sub- commended roots for cattle. He could not re- ject, one who has had long and intimate acquaint- comraend farmers to grow carrots. Concerning | ^^^ ^^^ j^^ The article was written at our special turmas he had muah confidence in them for teed-: , , .,, , , , , , ing cattle, as he learned from his own experienc-e. . ^<\'^^^^^ and we hope wiU be succeeded by others Mr. SiiiTH, of Granbv, did not believe the root ' °° ^^^ "^^ . ^^""^^^ subjects. Our Vermont crop so profitable for him as growing com. He friends, especially, are requested to give the aru- thought the English would not grow roots il they i cle their candid consideration. They may find in could grow corn. it the germ of the highest improvements in the Mr. Tower, of Lanesboro' spoke highly of production of sheep and wool root culture, appealing to Enghsh practice m con- ^ '^ firmation. He could raise 600 bushels of turnips Cattle Breeders' Convention.— The Cattle per acre, and sell them for 25 cents a bushel. If Breeders* Association met, elected oflicers, raised cows are fed immediately after they are milked, three hundred dollars bv subscription, discussed the milk will not taste of turnips. breeds, and adjourned to'Worcester a vear hence, Mr. Morton, of Wiliiamsburgh, spoke of the . all on Wednesdav, March 4th, at Hartford. The effects of carrots and mta bagas on the soil, the greatest enthusiasm was manifested over the solid latter being injurious to the following crop. He basis of the .\ssociation. It is an American affair, preferred carrots for cows, as turnips make the originating in New England, and its sole object is milk taste of them. He had grown carrots on the protection of breeders and the public from the same piece of ground for 12 years. imposition by pedigrees. Anv pedigree worth in- Mr. Flower said he would not grow carrots sertin? in the societv's list is examined for a small as an infringement upon the corn crop. i fee, which is refunded if they are rejected- The Mr. Wetherell said English authority as following officers were elected : H. H. Peters, of, quoted to indorse the economy of root culture is Southboro', President ; E. H. Hyde, B. F. An- not pertinent to this country, as there they cannot drews, H. G. White, A. 0. Cummins and Peleg grow Indian com, as we can here. He spoke ol Winslow, Vice-Presidents ; H. \. Dyer, Secrtta- the value of com fodder from an acre of ground \ ry and Treasurer ; J. S. .\llea and C. F. Pond, as equal to the hay that would grow thereon. I Auditors. 126 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April AQRICULTUIIE THE GREAT INTEREST. Nothing is more common, even among vyise leg- islators, than to hear people talking of the supe- rior importance of commerce, mechanics, arts and manufactures, to that of agriculture, as a busi- ness— and speaking of the vast preponderance of capital invested in those branches of industry over that engaged in cultivating the soil. We do not speak of this complainingly, but only as the nat- ural result of that broadcast prejudice which ex- ists against the occupations of rural life, and of that want of information in the public mind, which ])laces in a second or third rate position the great art that sustains us all. No error can find so little foundation as this, and a trifling investiga- tion of the various census tables published, will justify what we assert. A few years ago, when the farmers of the State of Maine asked the Legislature to establish a State Board of Agriculture, all the old objections were urged against it, and among others, that the subject was not of sufficient public importance to justify such a measure. In reply to this, it was stated by a member, first, that commerce and manufactures had, in a thousand ways, directly and indirectly, received the protection and patron- age of the general government — and second, that commerce and manufactures were not greater in- tej-ests than agriculture, but that more capilal was invested in agriculture than all the investments in commcjxe and m,aniifadures added together ! The last remark was received with derision, and proof was called for. Application was made to the Superintendent of the Census Bureau, and the following answer returned : "The amount invest- ed in agriculture, in the United States, does not fall short of $5,000,000,000, (five billions,) and the capital in manufactures and commerce togeth- er, cannot possibly be more than one-ffth of that amount." For one, we have no special favor to ask of Congress or legislatures for the farmer — but only those helps which are accorded to all classes of our people, and which, instead of crippling the government, would vastly strengthen it. What we do earnestly desire is, that the farmer shall be- come a more intelligent, self-reliant and systemat- ic man, and then he will soon take proper rank, and exert the most happy influence upon every department of our industrial and political afi'airs. This must be done in order to place our govern- ment on the most stable and permanent founda- tion, and to secure the greatest national prosperity. Public Schools of Pennsylvania. — The whole number of scholars in attendance upon the public schools of Pennsylvania last year was 682,- 182. The cost of maintaining the schools was $2,773,595. For tlie New England Farmer. FLAX CULTURE— No. 2. Two powerful incentives are now operating to induce farmers to embark in the cultivation of flax, viz : Its profitableness over other farm pro- ducts, and a desire to produce a substitute for cot- ton. That it is the most profitable crop the farm- er can raise, at present prices, every one will ad- mit, notwithstanding the remarks I made oia the subject in a former article, and as I promised then to give some instructions in regard to its cultiva- tion, I will begin by noticing the objections that some farmers make to sowing, and trying to prove that they are m.ostly groundless. In the first place, some contend that it exhausts the soil more than other crops. I have faised flax for fifteen years on the same farm, and said farm will pro- duce fully one-third more of any crop than it would at the time I commenced. I do not attri- bute its increased productiveness to raising flax, but to a judicious system of manuring and high seeding. My system of cropping is this : first, corn or potatoes, second, flax, oats, or .spring wheat, and then to rye in the fail, and seed down. Of my method of manuring, I will speak hereaf- ter, but suffice it to say here, that it enables me lo take ofi" three crops as above, and leave my land in better condition than when first ploughed. That flax does not exhaust the soil more than oats, or spring wheat, 1 infer from the fact that my rye or winter wheat is invariably better on the land sowed to flax, than on the oat or other stubble. Others say that land cannot be seeded when sown to flax, which is an error, although it is not as good as some other crops, for the reason that, if the flax is pulled in wet weather, the young grass roots ai"e pulled out, more or less, and if dry v.eath- er comes on, they are dried to death ; but this can be obviated in a measure by rolling the land after the flax is off". I prefer to take off" three crops, and if the land is not suitable for rye, I leave it until spring, and sow to oats or barley, spreading fine manure on top of the ground, which, being harvested in with the grain, secures a good crop, and also a good seed, which is worth as much as a coat of manure on any land. The greatest objection, in these times of scar- city of labor, is that the liarvesting comes just when the farmer is the busiest, and when every other crop is pressing. The only way to remedy this, is to sow a little less of other crops, and sow a little flax, not too much, for J do not approve of every farmer going into the flax business over head and ears, to the neglect of everything else. That flax is an uncertain crop, is very true, but it is very seldom that it does not pay for all labor and leave a little besides, in the poorest of sea- sons. The quantity and quality of flax depend very much on the season, probably more so than most other crops, for, unlike corn, it has iew enemies, and, unlike corn, it requires a cool, moist season, to bring it to its greatest perfection. Nearly all rich soils will produce flax, except sandy or grav- elly land, and even that will grow good flax in a very wet season. Soils that are best adapted to oats, are the best for flax. It should be sown on land that has produced a hoea crop the previous year, as otherwise it is apt to be filled with weeds, which make bad pulling. Sward land, ])loughed in the fall, may be sown the next spriug, but 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 127 should never be turned over and sowed the same spring, as the timothy will come up in it and head out. The ground should be jiloughed fine, and levelled down with the harrow before sowing, and harrowed twice after sowing. The quantity of seed sown must be governed by the object in view. If we raise it for the seed, mostly, twenty-six to thirty quarts to the acre is enough, when it will branch out and yield more seed than if sown thick- er. The coat will also be coarse and harsh, fit for nothing but ropes and such coarse articles. If a fine, nice coat is desired, sow five pecks to the acre, but for seed and lint, sow one bushel. Tliis is the most profitable quantity to sow at present, as both seed and lint are high, the former being worth !?a 25 per bushel, and the latter 2o cents per pound, for the best quality, which is nine cents more than has been known for a great many years. Nothing more is to be done until pulling time, which commences as soon as the leaves begin to fall from the stalk, or when about half of the bolls are turned from the green to a brownish color. In pulling, great care should be taken to keep it even at the roots, and to discar d all weeds, grass, (tc, as they produce no lint, and render the seed impure. That which it is designed to save seed from for sowing, should be weeded two or three times through the summer, which is done by going through it and pulling out all bad weeds as yellow seed, mustard, &;c., then thresh the seed oiT by it- self, and it can be kept clean. When j)ulling, stand with the back down hill, gather tlie flax with one hand, and hold it in the other. Gather at one time about what will stand on four or five square inches of ground, and raise it just high enough to pull all the flax out, but no higher, as the higher it is raised in pulling, the more liable it is to get uneven. The most convenient size for bundles is just about what a person can grasp with both hands. As soon as a handful is pulled, hold it loosely in the hands and drop it on the ground two or three times, to even the butts, then bind by taking about a dozen stalks of flax and ])utting them around the handful, taking both ends in one hand, and whirling the handful until the band is twisted sufficiently to hold it. A little practice enables one to bind very fast in this way. It should be set up two and two, and from six to eight in a shock, and as soon as they become chy, bind each shock into a bundle with rye straw, and draw in, handling carefully so as not to shell and waste the seed. There are two methods of threshing off' the seed, viz : by hand, taking the handfuls in the hands and beating the seed ends on a stone, block or some hard substance, until the bolls are all beaten off; and by passing the tops of the hand- fuls between rollers driven l)y horse or water- power. Where there is much of a crop, the latter method is preferable, but for small lots, if the owner has no power of his own, it is cheaper to do it by hand. A person will whip from one-half to three-fourths of an acre ])er day by hand, and a set of rollers with men will thresh from four to six aores, aiul take care of the flax. Great care is necessary in cleaning the seed, it being liglit and very flat, it is liable to be blown over in the chaff. I have known as much as two bushels to the acre, wasted in this way by careless workmen. Spread- ing is another operation requiring care, as it is necessary that it should be spread evenly in order that it may rot uniformly. It should be spread about the same thickness 'that it grew, and as even- ly at the butts as possible. When about half roUed, it must be turned, beginning at the last swath spread, and running a long, smooth pole under the flax a little above the middle, and turning it over, pressing the swath down after turning to prevent the wind from blowing it around. When it can be taken in the hand, and by rul)l)ing, the sheaves can be broken and separated fioni the coat, it is fit to take up, which is done by raking it into hurdles the size of oat sheaves, and bind- ing, when it is ready to take to the dressing-ma- chine. As the dressing is a trade by itself, which the farmer has nothing to do with, I'will say noth- ing about it. It is customary here for the "farmer to deliver the flax at the mill, and the dresser fits it for market and sells it, reserving $2 GO per hundred for his work. Any other information respecting its cultivation which I possess, will be cheerfully given to any desiring it. Aguiclltl-bist. New Fork, Januat'y, 18G3. For t'-e Aeir England Fnrmer. BEST PEAKS FOR CULTUKE IN MAS- SACHUSETTS. At a recent Legislative Agricultural meeting at the State House in Boston, the presiding officer remarked that the Massachusetts Agricultural Club, an association composed of gentlemen em- inent for their interest in agriculture, have, after many years of deliberation on the sul)ject, decid- ed unanimously, upon the twelve kinils of pears best adapted for cultivation in Massachusetts. They are as follows : IJartlett, Louise IJonne de Jersey, Urbaniste, Beurre d' Anjou, Vicar of Winkfield, Merriam, Seckel, Onondaga, Sheldon, Beurre Bosc, Lawrence and Doyenne Boussock. Now with all due deference to the opinion of these gentlemen who have, "after many years of observation," come to this conclusion, I was sur- prised to find such varieties as the Ik'lle Lucra- tive, Winter Nelis, Paradise of Autumn and Buf- fum, were not included in their list, in preference to the Onondaga, Merriam, Doyenne Bcjussock and Lawrence. That fine fall fruit, 'the Belle Lu- crative, has not only increased in size, annually, from its introduction, but was one of the few that remained uninjured in the winter of 1^<(J1, which was so disastrous to the fruit buds, as well as the shoots of many of our finest pear trees. The Beurre Bosc suffered extensively ; not only grafts of three or four years were killed, but in some in- stances whole trees. The Onondaga, with us, is a bad bearer, and rather an acid fruit. The Mer- riam has not been grown with us sufficiently long to judge of its character. The Buff'uiii, wiiich is not in the list, I consider one of the best market pears we possess ; a fine grower and great bearer. In making a selection of })ears for any known locahty, one of the greatest points is to ascertain what varieties flourish well on light, warm soil, and those on the contrary, that require land of a cool and more retentive nature. The Wilkinson, a fine, native, fall fruit, and the Lewis, a winter variety, require land of the last description. On a light, sandy loam they are small and worthless. Among the great varieties of pears that have been brought forward witbn the last twt niy years. 128 NEW ENGLAND FARMEE. April it is difficult to say, decidedly, what are the best twelve sorts ; much more so than with apples. I ■will venture, however, to append a list of twelve, which include the largest proportion of those named : Bartlett, Louise Bonne de Jersey, Urban- iste, Beurre d' Anjou, Winter Nelis, Paradise of Autumn, Seckel, Belle Lucrative, Sheldon, Beur- re Bosc, Glout Morceau and Buffum. Salem, March, 1863. J. M. Ives. Far the New Enpland Fanner. A LISTEIfER AT THE STATE HOUSE. At the Sixth Agricultural Meeting at the State House, when the subject for discussion was Fruit, and the Chairman Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, this gentleman made some interesting remarks upon the general topic. It can hardly be supposed that many then present could concur in all the views he expressed, as fruit culture must admit of many fluctuating, vague and only partially sus- tained opinions. I do not intend to follow the gentleman in the order of his remarks, but will venture a few comments upon what he and some others said, with a view of facilitating the approach to truth. Mr. Wilder observed that underdraining was the basis of good orcharding, even upon hill-sides. I agree with him, that a mellow soil, scarifying the surface, surface-manuring in the autumn, and un- derdraining on low, wet or very cold soils, are im- portant requisitions in good orcharding. I am not a little inclined to believe, however, now the subject of draining has been brought so promi- nently before the agricultural community, that de- mands will be made Avhich may be found hereaf- ter to be rather extravagant. Draining hill-sides with tiles 7)i.ai/ be beneficial to an extent, but whether, all things considered, it would j:>a^ — such positions being usually rocky and admitting of no stagnant water — is the mooted point. Certain it is that very excellent orchards exist upon hill-sides that are not underdrained. One reason the Speaker gave why orchards should be underdrained, (both apple and pear, Ave understood him to say,) was new to us. Uii- drained land, in the autumn, he said, Avas subject to a rising of cold moisture, which was injurious to the roots of trees at the time they needed warmth for the maturity of their fruit. In imder- drained land the earth is dry and warm as deep as the roots usually penetrate, and thus the ripening process of fruit is facilitated. If I have understood the theory of underdrain- ing correctly, it is this : Water should not remain on the land to evaporate by the sun, because no heat will penetrate the soil till it becomes dry ; neither should it riui off from the surface, as on side-hills, but should nin doicn into the soil, car- rying with it the fertilizing properties from the surface — which it does where there is an outlet be- low. Thus the soil is kept porous to the depth of the drains. Some of the roots of trees run equal- ly deep, and are thereby enabled to withstand a drought better than if on undrained land, as the rains readily strike them in sinking, and they are enabled to draw moisture from tlie subsoil more freely, as it has no impediment to encounter in rising, as in undrained land, where there is fre- quently a hard, gravelly subsoil a foot or more from the surface, which prevents this rising of moisture from beneath when the more superficial roots need it from the dryness of the upper soil. Hence the prevention of drought is one great ob- ject in underdraining. In a word, it is lo keep the soil open and permeable to a certain depth, (say three feet,) so that it may retain from rains only the moisture it needs, or draw from below, by capillary attraction, just what it requires. Un- derdraining may be defined as the hijgroinelic reg- ulator of the soil. It Avould seem, then, that underdraining gives that necessary moisture to the roots which Mr. Wilder complains of, and which he would remedy by underdraining ! It can hardly be admitted that, in September, when vve are quite liable to droughts, the moisture drawn up to the roots is so cold as to check the ripening process, since the earth has been heating all summer, and is rather slow to part with its caloric. Certainly, the objection cannot hokl good as to apples, if it should to 'ivi}der pears. For the former to be th'JS afi'ected, the soil must be very cold indeed. Win- ter pears, however, we think should be placed in warm positions, whether the soil is underdrained or not, although to this there may be some olijec- tions, which will appear further on. Underdrain- ing may possibly supply a warmer moisture, but I submit that this warmer moisture (than that which the ordinary condition of the soil affords) is not important with most fruit trees in the early autumn months. Col. Wilder gave us another reason why or- chards should be underdrained, and that was the "prolongation of the season." This is granted. But while the warm season is lengthened in the autumn, it is also hastened in the spring. Now, if the soil is warmed earlier in the spring by this operation, will not the fruit huds of trees start be- fore the weather is sufficiently sciiled and loarmfor their security ') If so, (and the conclusion seems inevitable,) will not underdraining, while it per- fects the crops at one end of the season, endanger the buds at the other ? Horticulturists speak of the importance of northern and exposed locations, and of late-blooming varieties of fruit as avoiding spring frosts ; but underdraining tends to destroy all tliis security, whether in apple, pear, or any other fruit trees. Mr. Wilder also spoke of the importance of thinning out fruit. This is very well, tliough a difficult task for a man with many overburdened trees. This superfecundity, the speaker well said, exhausts the trees, and he inferred that on the succeeding year they would not bear in conse- quence of this exhaustion. But will a tree thinned of one-half of its fruit one year, bear half as much the next ? Can it be thus brought to bear equal- ly— or anything like equally — each year ? But suppose we destroy a portion of the blossoms ; will this equalize the bearing? I know of no one who has thus been successful. Some have thought that, by destroying the blossoms on a young tree whose variety was known to bear on even years, it might be brought to bear the odd years ; but they find nature will not be thwarted. Fruit l)uds are formed the year previous to bearing ; hence, while the sjiurs are occupied with a crop, they cannot well form buds for the subsequent year. Accordingly it bears little or none the next sea- son. This seems to be a general law of fruit trees, particularly of the apple and pear, although in some trees less fixed than in others. And wheth- 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 129 er it can be modified or changed to another year by any art or manipuhition, is exceedingly doubt- ful. Why have not the sudden changes of the weather, canker worms and other insects, so equal- ized the bearing seasons of fruit trees that one season would be found to be about equal to an- other, instead of being so much greater and so re- liable as it is now ujion even years ? Col. AVilder further observed that the sudden revulsions in our climate of late, had shown that some varieties of pears are even more liurdji llicoi tJie apple ; for, he added as an evidence thereof, that his pear trees bore the succeeding year, while his apple trees did not. I respectfully submit whether this is a fair inference. Perhaps the ap- ple trees would not have born even witliont these sudden extremes of heat and cold ; for, upon Mr. W.'s theory, they might have been exhausted the previous year ; or it was not their bearing year ; or they did not bear for some unaccountable reason, as is frequently the case with fruit trees. AVhen an apple tree is killed outright in winter beside a pear tree which survives, this we should call the ])rimary test of hardiness ; and where the fruit buds of the apple are k-noirti, by ocular dem- onstration, to have been destroyed, and those of the pear saved, this is a secondary test. But the speaker did not say that he had so proved the rel- ative hardiness of the pear ; the fact of fruiting and non-fruitiug decided the question. In I'cspcct to the supposed hardiness of some of our choice varieties of the pear over the apple, a relative of mine, in the southern part of VVisconsin, informs me that he has not been al>le as yet to procure pear trees that will endure the severity of the winters in that region ; and that only a few apple trees can survive them — among wliich are the Williams, Ilubbardston Nonsuch, Kaule's Je- nette, and a few others. And further upon this point, Guslavus de Neveu, of the same State, ob- serves, in the Patent Office Report, (18.34, p. 298,) that "Pear trees do not stand our climate so well as the apple or plum, a few having perished last winter from the intense cold." He thinks, how- ever, a few varieties may endure. Can trees detect and reject po('.?o?( in their food ? Allusion being made by another speaker to the presence of oxide of iron in the soil and its sup- posed good effects, Mr. Wilder said he placed a quantity of iron filings around a plum tree as an experiment, and as some sap flowed from the branches, running down and discoloring them, he was satisfied the iron had gone up. The tree, however, died ; and the speaker observed that veg- etable physiologists had erroneously asserted that a. tree would reject j^oison. For myself, I am not aware tliat they ever had so asserted. I)e Can- dolle does not ; and it is of very frequent occur- rence that with brine or suds, (salt or jjotash.) trees are killed outright. A little of these sub- stances might do trees good, but they have no pow- er to limit them when suppHed in great quantities. A word on the blnek knot will suthce. Mr. Tower said that the way he got rid of this pest of plum culture was to cut it oil' as fast as it a])peared. I tried this for a time, till I found that every new limb springing out was almost immediately aflfect- ed by it, which if cut oft" would leave none for fruit the following years. This evil is ])articularly annoying when the trees reach about a dozen years. The best way is to cut clean down to the ground, as the boy cut his dog's tail off up to the neck ! A plum tree, in the vicinity of Huston, is one of the meanest cumberers of the earth ; and if I were to set fifty gardens, not one should have a place in them. Reject ephemeral trees and plant those of longevity. lloUTUS. Uak Vliff Cottage. J-'ur tlif Sfir luif^luiut fanner. MAPLE SUGAR. Mk. Editor :— In your paper of Ft-bruary 21, I find an article with the above heading, signed "A. M. F." and on which you make remarks. I sugar ofl' my syrup after it is cold. My man- ner of boiling is to take two cast iron boiler kettles, holding twenty and forty gallons, set them in cast iron arch ])late wiih holes of suitable size to let them rest firmly on the rim ; lay the plate on two pillows of brick with a chimney. These two kettles will boil the sap of two hundred trees, and I i)refer them to two pans that will boil twice the bulk of sap. I heat ui the siuall onu, and dip into the large one, until I get in fifty paiifuls, or .so, then 1 syrup it down so tliick that it will grain when it is boiled away one-half I then strain it through a fine strainer into a tin or wooden ves- sel, and set away to cool. When intensely cold, I put it into a brass or copper kettle or boiler, and add one-lialf pint of skim milk, bring to a slow boil and skim as it boils, until it is perfectlv clear. When it becomes thick enough to be waxy, when dropt upon clean snow, I pour it into a tub pre- pared fur the purpose, and in about a week, I tap the tub at the bottom and draw off the syrup, which, for table use, is much before any sugar- house syrup you can find. I would remark here, that I drain my syrup into my brass kettle, and leave all the nitre and fine dirt in the bottom, which I iiad much raiher would remain there, than to be in the sugur, for I think it blackens the siigar and destroys the flavor. Too much pains cannot be taken to keep the sap, syrup and sugar clean. " Do not let the women folks take the buckets in- to the house, and put cream, sour milk, salt meat soap-grease, &c., into them, for nothing will cleanse them until the sap does it, and your sugar is spoiled. I bore my trees with a five-eighth bit, and use a tin spout and hang the bucket on a wrought nail by a strip of leather nailed to the bucket. When the sap season is over I take down my buckets, wash them clean and ]nit into my sugar-house, and they only need scalding the next season. I prefer the machine buckets to any other, as they are easier ke])t clean, and take up less room than the homemade buckets. G. K. J. Daidjunj, N. 11., March 2, 1863. Splitting Wood. — S. Parsons says, the boys engaged in splitting the year's fuel, can make it easier, and lessen the danger of cutting their feet by the following arrangement : Take a large block of hard wood, say two feet or more in di- ameter, and of convenient length ; set it up end- wise, and in the middle dig out a Imle seven or eight inches in diameter, and about six inches deep. This will hold the sticks upriglit. and they can be split into several pieces without handling. The hole can be easily made in a very Ultle lime with an auger and chisel. 130 NEW ENGUOTD FATJMER. A-GSICTTLT^^WS Uk TMJi SCAXS OW MAXES. la. addii5aQ so osdinatT XesgUMsfaood Famess* Chlis.TovaaBd C wiity Asncohanl Sodedes and Ex}sibiti«&, and a Sisse AssodadaB, tfaere s. in 3iI:£iBe>deSbgainTebodr,ca*ifetmgc3f one mstor , het hvm. eatk coBoAf fd the State, vindi bclds ac assBtti sesaca of imteen dws, to aveat%aie, d:^ c^aad report oaHaaEtspataiaii^tD the geaiierzl faosiasdzy c« u» Scaze, and b entilled tiie '^Maine Boaid of AvTiesliMie:,' ooe meBtber of vindi ac£s ^ a$Seaeiaij. Besdesoshs^dmiesaf amxegos- eni diaiacser, tin Seeretaiy s le^nted to pie- pnetise doo^ ftf tiis Boatd fer pofalieatioii, to- ' gEtier vita sadh leeoHJaeadadaas and 3i^lgestH»s astbeaiteiesSsaf agnadtmeseeaitoicqaiie. To. ibt iind aSiwitiKws of & L. Gooniix, Esq^ vito ] lias 'cefrdUriOedtihis a@ee fbr aerea Teais pas:,' «« are indeiited Sdt tbe ^S<7>SBd Ataatai Bepori <^1Jke S-umdani «^&e Maime Boari (/A^rnadtMre, 1BS2,~ a Ttibxme of fl6 p^es. Tunni^ ova irs deadk-pEnSed pages, «e econt soisefinesi pliers oa yanooi. ^rimllgral topics, wnSten br dSBezent memiiea of tae Boazd. u> vikom these ti^Hrs had been pKerioizsiT as^ncd, and read Hmrng its bet atiituJuiL Bat rai^ile and intoesiii^ as tbe^ ' zepotssad proceedings are, tbeToccaprle^ than oee-beif of the Tafanne. The r^aeinii]^ portim is derated to an eSabosate report of the Seczetazron the Samr, Agiiralluud Statistics, tampied from ^ lemnifc of towB assessQis, &£., &&, dosing vith^ aone hopefid zemazfe on the pto^ects anddntks of the fomesre of 3iEazne in tiieae ^tzocUoos times.'' We capr a few Snes : j *^]t is not Sar me heze to speak of oar dnties as ' csdzem; God fadpii^ as, ve vill soj^MRt oar! GofvezBBKnt, aphc4d the Consfitnticm, eznah in- '■ eabaedsaaitjoa aid lavieasness, and mfJutaiii lav ■ ami. axder and justice, Xocth and Sooth. Bat of OB' pecnliar doxies as fazneis I maj speak. Tak- ing the coiuiUi tbgether, the Tears 1860, "61 and ^62, have beoi tezj {declinil veazs, and the help aSotded br these abondant crops, in pnahKngns to sostaiB the call fiv men and means, can seazcdr; be over estimated. The last call ior 600,000 men ; was zespooded to, fiar the most pazt, after die ac^> fer 1^862 had been sa^y gaznezed, and the men . came, in hrge pcoportioo, from the food-psodne-| ii^-xaoks. We aze gettzi^ to be Aort-handed. ] Expeziesce teaches OS abo, that aaedesftf aban-| ^mt seasons is imiaDT Mkived bra sorreasion cf mace seaatToaes. Theze is a demand optm as j to lar oar {Jans for Ae comicg season viadr and j veQ/so tlot erezT hoar of the time, and aJl the j means at coaonaad, be employed to the best ad- \ xantage. There is need of die acquisition andj difiuMm of knowie^e, and the great eztenam of j improred {saedse. There is need of the atmost | f:^~.-.'.z-.T -.-. ':.\za^, and daD in apf^yii^ the ma-^ . ^a-jard, and need to dzav upon all cf fartiHzation vitinn oar reach. 2-jwiier can than ever for the employ- - . i;|HrrTed haph'mt'Uts and Caom macfaine- 1-;, i-z t-iixs coatriTance begoOen cf dae neee^tr aoid ii^eauitt of man, by vfaieh the pov&s of na- ^e one another Prom the It..-' -^.vo ^Ten "~6 re- ports cwTiaptr - ;r -" - :• last sggsaon, ocr to dkdr ahilitT. A =-^j.-e ;i:.. .z read by Dr. J. C. WrVpt^y. ' : -« IKseases of Tr; . piactieal bene£: expert from ec:T ~e mast ecpy u: "Dazingthe - -r ^ - - ~- "Ire, vhen the prart: : ~e\i oa isolated mr: - caoos, the aver-. Tears less than _ i vhat has been ^ search, OMKe acnizate ' >kliL The same caref- : 2,- aiate the fancr. : :i? same attentire modifieat2?!:« ^ the same t -i di&rEsee- :-e to the &.I- For there stznetnzes a:.^ _:_r:_.~r_^ .; __.jc- ? l^_ _^-iii^-. Both haTe the same c:heiBkal cmfrdtoents." An impcKtant tmth is strSdngly expressed in the fdloving extract from a report by iL-. Kgb- EBi Mabtts, cf We?: Danville, cm ~The Feedii^ of Farm Stock," and witii it we most close oar extzacts Ibr the paresen:. "A good-sized ime-yeaj-^ld in nsoal nesh at eommeiieement of winter, •srill ^ei^h ahicut 6<> i pounds. It is not so anconunoc a? i: cu^h; to be. f jI r'aem to ^n %m. duriog the wiiiier nx>m cne-iounh to one-tfiird in wei^it, iat want of proper food and shelt^. The remit is, ti^ owner has lost cm the year-oM, 200 poonds, and on the ox 500 poands of be^ dnzii^ the vinter, winch is worth in the one case $8, aind in the odio- $20. The animals have really ctmsomed one-third cf themselres to carry them thzoogh tiie vister. Onen oar neat cattle aze led in the winter on beef and tallow, she^ on matton, hogs cm pork and lard, boises on hcRse-flesh — all expenave articles c^ food eonqnred vidi hay, grain and the Tazioas root etops." LiXA. Bea>5. — I Lave been so socoessfol with an experiment ihai I was induced to try this year, with my lima beans, that I h^Te thought it might be wcHthy of reecading in yoar colonms. When the beans aze Ranted early, and wei, cold weather follows, many of them nerer vegetate ; {Revioos to plaotii^ thi? year I melted up some tallow, and, when eocded a liule, I dipped in the beans, coating them with it ; the result is, that I hare not tiad a angle bean that has failed to veg- etate, and they are growing finely. — Farmer aad Ga> deaer. 1V.3. XEW EXGL-VNT) FAP3IEIL 131 EXraACTS A^X> KEPXXB8. Do vca -rrl'-f'.j ^^'li-!^~ liii if a£n ax, on tfce -wxy to clic BU;^z:ucr-bocsc, rio Toa befiere that any kiad of food or process of | fee^Dg vin r^der eoane-wooled dteep fiae-wooied , Eheep ; or the coarse hair OB asiBals far: or the coarse feathers oo. birds down ? Morxi Gsace. ITarviei. 1863. Besiaxxb.— We thiak it^oaaUr that an these thiB^ might arise from the casses job iiBtiiii Ahaofit eTtxytliiBg JOB eat has goae AroBgh a sBSar pro- cess. The fine haired, sofi-ekiBned ox that s&rds ench jnicj and ddiciOBS steaks, has bees broB^ bj calmre £rom die ooarse^iaired, thick-hided, ilt«h^ed animal &at rardj exceeded 700 or 800 R». ia wa^- So it is with the afgin, pear, peach aad pInL WIA the potato, pawip, eazrot aad eeletj,— thej hare aH be^ laade t^ider, joiej and palatable bj good treat- mest, that s, caxttal adbtre. Whj that i^ocess ^oold uoc a^ect the ox, ^eqt or foml, ve esatat. see. Bin the onioo seems to be a Btxle too stroo^ £or obt correspondent. It is not oht story — ve told the tale as 'twas tt4d to ns. Yet we cannot see aByrhia* iai- probabie in it. It is said br phjaiolo^sfs that, wh^ milk is taken into dke iBoaib. a -' tt:. - >jf it is almoa immediate coBrerted into is boandiag throQgh the srstem. VThj - :-? and other IK>i5cii5 desiTOT life so scddeniv mu-ess they pass dl- rwsly mio the ciiralatJoD ? We iLixe an aufc-rnuiiie friend who has what is caOed a 'T'Ote fever,' if be is in the ne^hborhood where they bl«>jm, ar i !: i? ~-:iy timc5 been obliged to shnt himself a? in i^ dartnsr their blooming seasc^n. He l^s ,:^ -- ance of a person with a hesTy coid. Triii ii ^ sioued by the smell of ihe roees. \>iil '-Mocn: . tell Low mnch of those odors he had mhaled ? w -.iLi it be appteciaMe bj the sense of a^u,or toBch,ar wei^h:, by the most sensitive scales ? And jet Ae whole system is aSecSed by il "VThy not the ox, thai, bj & fingie ooioB ! Oibst persons are as ar^easastly a^cted by the snell of oew-^nade h^y, and when oe&r it imaxlai^ hare what is called the hay lerer. Sach cases are nn- zn^aoKs and well astheniicaied. R^T'gs OP gwCKP rS TZXKOST. As yoa Eke to keep yocr readers posred on what is ; ■KEZr XAXXSG WOCl. I hare a nrighbnr wfao has a few thrin -. z.-. =i§ vU ay? fed Aem well ti-l k«*?s then la rood order. Dntae the last foriBie&i h« >-jci it off. One day he *-'^^e \ -rfn-n r r ^beep- r^rff a off by kr^ BOBthfUs, aad he, *> weO a4 r- '- weald like to kaow the caase and the rei»c be one. If yoa or aay of tobt imi ii ■ i - g"^ — ■iwaiiriB mtt»ike ahmL,TOB w^. rrr*z.-r fitiB^ £. Haaa.' J^tnamaOe, 17., Marei I, IK3. 8TATB BOAHD OP AGaiCTTLTUBE. Tbe State Board of A^rictil:ure h^ a aceti^ at the State HoBse on Timrsuay, FefaniarT 3S, aad in tbe absence of His F.\frflcpcy tiie ftninniM, H~ IVftl-r,:~. -i;^ i 't^tll P. HoisttMie, IliB Pamz LMBMir. DiiTir T^Ber, j^raaM^T CasnasK. XorfeK. Hcsz. Sjjcm I. CKKXxa. Btisiji. ^■» ■»••■'•» w. StrsKss. r. S. Agmctxitkal Sooett. — Tbe priaeipal c^Bcers oi ttis Society for the p reseat jear, are, Presideni. Wtttt^v B. HrBSAiJ>, Culaahm, Ohio ; Treasurer. Be>va3CI>- B. F "Tab- :., FeiK, 1S6S. SHALL P. WrLDEX, of Dorchester, is a of the Exeeatrre Committee. The Sjjcsox Apple. — I of Mr. lJ_BKrDGE Chaxdlex, of Miss.. we hare receive-i — is aa oblcvng a^le. IL ' ard keeps until ^ tbe experience o: - sood grower and be^^iier. '~^' hnPartri?. .rst presuu ^ .^; ^_^. > -v^" it-'r the prom c. St. r. meats daiia^ three 'cation of aaaarea. -e!d. h4«S:-r5iw*r3- iiiculiart. iof tiper- y«Brs iatheappB 182 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. April ASPARAGUS. No family in the country, that has a square rod of land to spare, should do without a bed of as- paragus. 1. Because it is wholesome as food. 2. Because it is profitable. 3. Because it is easily and cheaply produced. A bed once Avell prepared and tended, will last for many years, — we do not know how many, — perhaps twenty years. If one has an old bed, it would be advisable to preserve seed and sow it, to start a new one. If not, it would be cheaper to purchase the roots than to wait for plants from the seed. The seeds may be sown as soon as the ground will permit in the spring, or just before the frosts set in, in the fall. Cover the ground with muck or litter, and then with branches to keep it from blowing off. Take off the litter in the spring and the plants will soon appear. In planting the roots, set the plants 10 or 12 inches apart, in straight lines, and the rows 15 or 20 inches apart. Put the crown of the roots 3 or 4 inches below the surface, then level the bed with the rake. The bed should be spaded 15 or 20 inches deep, and manure plentifully mingled with the earth. If it were thoroughly trenched, two feet deep, it would pay well. The plants should not be cut at all the first year, and but sparingly the second. The third will produce a bountiful crop. In cutting, let the knife pass down under the ground nearly to the crown of the root. Every autumn the bed should be cleaned of the dead stems and the ground covered with manure an inch or two deep. In the spring, this should be carefully forked in and well mingled with the soil, and the bed kept entirely clear of weeds. How to Cook Asparagus. Boil it in salt and water. When young it will cook sufficiently in 15 or 20 minuies. Toast white bread and dip it into the water the asparagus was boiled in. Lay the toast into the dish, and the aspai'agus on top of it, adding a little butter to each as you proceed. Such a aish, with some trifling accompaniments, will make an excellent dinner, three or four times a week. THE KIVER APPLE. Among the fruits that seem to us to be pecu- liarly, and in this case Avonderfully adapted to the wants of man, is the River apple. In the first place it is a good looking apple, being above me- dium size and frequently growing quite large, when the' tree stands in rich ground. Its shape is flattish, not flat, nor really oblong, yellow, much j«d in stripes; tender and juicy; pleasant, slight- ly acid. It is a fine cooking and eating apple. The books say it is a good grower but poor bear- er. Such is not the case with those to which our attention has been called, as the trees bear boun- tifully. The tree is a handsome one when prop- erly trained. The peculiar and valuable quality of this apple, however, is its property of gradually ripening through a period of twelve weeks. Our attention was repeatedly called to several trees in the sum- mer and autumn of 1861, — when there was al- most a total failure of apples, — that were loaded with rare fruit. While under the trees, and se- lecting fine specimens, the owner stated that the a])ples began to drop during the last days of July, and were in good condition for cooking or for des- sert. They continued to ripen and drop in this manner until November, when the supply was ex- hausted. Small baskets of this fruit were sent to us by the liberal owner, and also to other neigh- bors, and twenty-five dollars' worth sold by the addition of a iew Poiters. Beside this, from these few trees, a familj' of seven or eight persons was constantly supplied with all they wanted for eat- ing and cooking, — and as there were three or four children, the quantity must have been liberal. It is a remarkable apple, and one that should be on every farm — but, perhaps, not more than a tree or two, or a few at most, unless near a mar- ket that can be easily reached daily. For the New Bngland Scanner. ■WOOL GROWING. The care of sheep, and the condition and quali- ty of the food upon which they subsist, whether in the barn or pasture, has a great influence upon the quality of the wool, and its value for manufactur- ing purposes. Sudden and unfavorable changes in the pasture and food, whether the eff'ect is to fatten the sheep or make them poorer, will afl"ect the quality of the wool for good or for evil. There are two immediate changes in the fibre at such times. One is in making a joint where the new growth commences, which often separates in card- ing, on account of its brittleness, thereby shorten- ing the wool, which is often very injurious to the kind of goods in which the wool is being worked and the other is in the change of the oily or fluid substances, both within and without the tube of the fibre, and which, to a certain extent, govern the softness of the fibre and its adaptability to re- ceive color. Wool taken from a sheep M-hich has died from exposure to cold and change, or which has been for a long time diseased, is always found very hard to take a good color. This is in consequence of the coagulated character of the oily substances in the tu'ie of the wool, which become very hard to remove under such circumstances, and will resist the dye. Where changes take place in the pasture, which are very striking, the joints before mentioned are not only ]n-oduced as often as such changes are made, but tbe substances pervading the interior of the tube will be found to be different between each joint thus made, and will require difl'erent solving 186.: NEW EXGLAXD FARMER. 133 powers before they will take the color uniformly through the whole length of the fibre. This efi'ect has been demonstrated the past year very fully in indigo colors, and has worked great damage ; at first attributed to the indigo, but subsequently found to be in the wool. The theory of the influence of climate upon sheep, as well as pasturage and feed upon their wool, is by no means new ; though some of your correspondents seem to ridicule the idea. Such persons must be sadly ignorant of the slicep liter- ature of the past, as well as of practical mamifac- iuring of the present day, or they would not treat an idea of such importance lightly. The first requisite of wool hjinrnefis, which is produced un- der and governed by all the laws of stock raising, such as good blood, or breed, to start with, and feed, pasturage, climate and careful keeping. The second is softness, which is almost entirely governed by the character of feed, pasturage and care, which will fix the character of the "yolk" or oily matter which surrounds and penetrates the tube of the fibre. This substance coagulates and crystalizes around and within the fibre in clean- ing, and renders it harsh and brittle, or soft and silky, according to the influences which have gov- erned it in its growth. The third is the IciKjtli of fibre, Avhich is not of so much consequence when its real length can be es- timated by the manufacturer. But for ages it has been well known that the change of climate and condition of the sheep has afiected and almost governed the length, of wool. Wool comes to us in various states, each coun- try gives it a certain character for our market, all affected by locality as well as by the different breeds of sheep from which the wool is taken. Australian wool is divided into several varieties. German wool is the finest usually used for broad- cloths, in connection with the Australian and Cape wool. The great magnitude of the worsted trade is of comparatively late interest, though very ancient in its introduction, and uses long wool. Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Prus- sia, and in fact all Europe, have changed the whole character of theLr wool, by changes of breed, cli- mate and keeping, and it only remains for Ameri- ca to do what she can do, to produce as good wool, and as much of it, as any country of the same size on the face of the globe. What, in fact, may not Massachusetts do ? She can raise the wool for her whole manufactures. She can raise flax as a ])artial substitute for cotton ; and when she does this, she will find her home-product more valuable to her, from the fact that the capital thus saved will fill a gap now open, and growing wider and deeper, dangerously so, by importations from other States of products she might do without, and which carry off her silver and gold, as well as much of her best energies without a proper re- turn, s. M. A. Fur the Nfir En^^land Fomter. METEOROLOGICAL RECORD FOR JANUARY, 1863. These observations are taken for, and under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. The ba- rometrical heights are given as at a uniform tem- perature of 32". The average temperature of January was 27° ; average mid-day temperature, 32*^. The corres- I ponding figures for January, 1862, were lO**, and ! 23" ; for January, 18G1, IT*^ and 22°. Warmest ; days the 2.^d and 2i)th, averaging 39" ; coldest day the 18lh, averaging 1". Highest temperature, I 45" ; lowest temperature 2" below zero. I Average height of mercury in the barometer, i 29.3.J inches ; do. for Jantiary, 18(>2, 29.23 inches ; do. for January, iSdl, 29.23 inclies. Highest dai- ly average, 29.98 inches, on the IHth; lowest do., 2S.,jG inches. Range of mercury from 2S.4 1 inches to 30.00 inches. j Rain fell on four days ; snow on twelve davs. i Amount of rain and melted snow, 3.(j(j inches ; I amount of snow, 2G,7u inches ; corresjjonding fi^'- , ures for January, 18()2. 2.2.5 inches and 29 inches ; do. for January, 1861, 3.97 inches and 34. ,jO inches. ' There was but one entirely clear day ; seven days I were entirely overcast. The comparisons between ! the thermometrical and barometrical averages of this and the two preceding years will be noticed with interest. This season will long be memora- ble as the "Warm Winter during the Great Re- bellion." A. C. Claremont, N. 11., Febntary, 1863. HINTS FOR THE SEASON. Thk Gaiidkn. — Decide what you will plant or sow in it, and vhen you will do it, as it will great- ly relieve you when you come to the actual work. What trees shall be set, what shrubberj-, flowers, or what general improvements made ? Scioxs. — Scions should be cut before the sap is active. Cut them carefully from the ends of limbs of last season's growth. Wrap them loose- ly in moist paper and lay them in some damp place until they are wanted for use. The bot- tom of the cellar, if damp, answers verj' welL Be sure to mark each variety distinctly so that no question shall arise as to what they are. Some jjcrsons place them in moist earth or sawdust, but they are rather more apt to mould than when in paper. They should be looked at frequently. Pruning. — It is sometimes as important to re- frain from doing a thing as to do a thing. Few labors on the farm are more injudicious, in our opinion, than to prune apple trees in March, April or May. It has proved fiital to thousands of trees. Wait till June or October. Gauden Cukss. — (Lcpidium Satirum.) — This should be sown every week from the time tiie ground can be got in proper condition to receive the seed, till September. It is thought by some, one of the best articles known in the whole list of salads, and is cultivated with the least trouble ane Qz^iJzTj cf Wc-ci ICS Leoertrni Mr. TnsA 109 Hr-- --. - Tf Harresu V^: Est- ^ 110, lis, 1:2:. :: Jj^r- r-iral XeeoKS 111. '--'. - - -Zaire II- — 'jUFi&scf dssSsabie........ 11-^ ^ Z.im~ — Xc. S.... ....11^ . _fi 11^ i Nc-i;s — R*-f=ia£ Mta^atwias....... IIT 11; - - — — ~- ■" — ^TpooSents — ^BestAi^te 115 — _ JaiMnr. fce. ........US - ~- rHmPlooA 121 - : aat— CcE^EtAqoedzKl 121 :s 122 ^ 122 -i- ^ — '•• •jol Gro-sias 12* -rssj... 126 J25 T=s 127 t 125 Act Fi«i — izlmral &>cie57,.....lSl -i ij- — ruras frwn on both sides. Send to table hot. CATTLE MAKKETS FOB MARCH. *fte fcAovisg is a sununarj" of th^ reports for the fear weeis eaffiBsXarch 21. 1>63: XTXBEK AT MAF.KI:T. S^uf'i and Shrifi aaJ Lirt Citft. Lambt. Pig*- Fa Hogs. feaZ$. r*rnary26...1>C>S S564 liS — " 50 itarch 5...12i7 2£'S6 11 — 60 12.. .ins 2l'T6 200 70 63 19...13iO 15*9 SCO 60 100 7:-^: 6173 lCs4S5 636 130 275 ~- ■ -[-z t-b!e esbibjts the number (rf cattle aod sbeep - "ie last fiwr we^s, axid ftjr the cmnespoaA- : -ear : ^so the total vmaba from JTaooaiy — riTe we^s— of eadi year: TSm SKUU LIST TEAS. Came. Sieep. CattU. SJttep. Maine ^SO &3 33a Xe*^ Hampshire. 428 1S52 2S3 9a0 Tennoct 1233 2J.ST 907 2S48 Massaehosess 490 433) 337 2178 Xorthera Xev York. ^ 2i J ^^ _ Canada. 11 _{ ^ ^ Wessem Staias ZiZ~ 1754 24=0 3311 Tot^ last four ve^s, .6J73 10.4-S5 4.4V-3 &.S63 Total, aace Jan. 1^12 w'ks,}ls,2&4 33,247 14,525 33,128 PPJCES. Feb.X. Mar. 9. Mar.VZ. J/ar.M. Be(^lst,2dfc3dqtial. ais'l HS'k HS'l W§8 « a few extra. 7|§8 71S9\ 8 SS^ SJgSi Sheep and laEibSj^K. 6 *7| 7 68 7igSJ 8 §9 Swine, stores, wh'sals..... .5s S6| 5i§6i 5 a5| 5|g6^ " " r^iail ....6 §7 6 g7 6537 64§7| Hides,f1b. S g8i 8 §8| 8 §51 8 §^ Pel3.eadi- $^113 $3 §4 $3 §4 $4 §44 Tanw,^fc. 'iH^ 8539 8539 Sigg r:. ^DTiTinsthe tast oosth the sales at this mar&€t. of - re- t-.er !asj year. Prices are nearlT 3 thsn list year. Tielarr^r - - ---.--^ Y.,»cich- wei^ in -i- — ■who dressed xjy^rz. his icatf h3'i 244 " F:: Ict:: He?. tered. zu.-- . ^- • - ft., tot33 a:^i»-:-_ cocicry c lei: : Childeex. — 1 remember a great man coming to my house at Waldiam, and seeing all my children standing in the order of their age and stature, he raid, "These are they that make rich men poor.~ But be straight received this answer, "'Xay, my lord ; these axe they that make a poor man rich ; for there is not one of these whom we would part with for all your wealth." — Taylor. ^F" A new light has been recently discovered for locomotire engines, which is said to com- bine remarkable brilliancy with great cheapness. It is produced by throwing a jet of gas and air up- on a cylinder of lime, and costs only fifteen miiij an hour, while the ordinary railway burner costs nz cents an hour. .44 26 75.8 --gh n record \ ■' y^. Tay- ■?n; ozev. -I sLiash- ._, ... ^r .. .7^1. at 7c ^ - be said were a fair baach of ^i Ox. 4tA Ox. 5th Ox. Cth Ox. 87 118 100 120 65 60 36 85 TG8 834 760 1014 &47 920 1012 896 1119 jw were at maitet Uareh 19. Don't be in haste to be rich. Remember that small and steady gains give competency. j reponeaes k)vma7fa2' old ba!d>£.- aad,hiCun. a better pa. - Tbey were HontEaid, c of Dmliani. Marxeu ai:. is to be taik- ■'- !> -■■'■■'--.-, ha-re be'0. 5. yoraSE, T.\J<:^'S k TOUIAX. ?ao?arxio 5ai''>y BRTiWy, Er.rrot SUGGESTED BY THE HETUBIf OP MAY. "In Tonder T»alt of liqaid blae, A blander Iirh: is kinJUn; ~'~ : Swrrt m/rr-. ocr cr-r '.ir'ii; hrT ieir, Ci'er wc->i, and X3.lt, ari L:;;-.ir:air; trow. Kar. Ic-rks abroad apon the earth. With hopeful ere and tmsting heart The promised seed time now hath come. And chilliBg winds depart." T this sea- son, develop- ment is the phenome- non that meets ,us at eTerv turn, during this glorious 'month. In what does this mysterious principle of growth — this silent appor- tionment of r parts — which -- we behold in the vegetable world, con- sist? With the retreat of winter, all the long pent and dormant forces of nature break forth afresh ; verdure robes the hill and the vallev, and every leaf and spire of grass respond to the vivifying influences of the sun and air. From the dawn of creation, it has been constantly and vigorously at work — never reposing — never flagging — ever the study and wonder of the learned, whether developing its re- sults in the upheaving of islands in the sea, or in arranging and perfecting the minute mechanism of the leaf or flower ; and yet it is as much a mys- tery, and. in its essence, as far beyond the range of his investigations, as it was when Adam walked with his beautiful Eve amid opening flower* in the primal Eden ! "Almost every particle of the world visible to as," says an elegant writer, "has been, at some time, within the organized body of some plant or animaL It has felt the vitalizing influence of this mysterious principle of life, and been separated by it, perhaps, unto its ultimate atoms. We gather a handful of the black vegetable mould at our feet. It is now inert, but how many changes have passed upon it in the last six thousand years '. Had we the power of evoking from it the history, of these changes, it would make one of the most instructive voluices ever written. The most of it is from the decay of plants, the carbon of which once floated in the air as gas, carried in every di- rection by the winds, until taken up by the leaves of plants. How many voyages round the worid have been completed by these particles ? A por- tion of it is made up of animals. Here are minute particles of mica, feldspar and quartz, too small for the eye to distinguish — traces of soda, potash, chlorine, alkalies and acids only detected by the most delicate chemical tests. What rocks did they once enter into ; what animal fimns hare they been incorporated with, and whence hare they been borne, in the earth's changes, to their present resting places ? Once, possibly, this par- ticle dwelt in a granite boulder, and was borne from the remote Xorth, in the ice period, and de- posited in its present neighborhood." These changes, each and all, have an intimate relation to the phenomena and operations of the farm ; and this principle of life and vital action, as developed in every leaf, in every bud, and ev- ery living form, — whether animal or vegetable, — should be made the study of the mind. — not. per- haps, to study the mystery of its origin or of its more recondite laws, but to ready and familiar ap- preciation of whatever most directly acts upon unorganized matter in the prodoctioa, rapport and perfection of living forms. 138 xsr.VT Ii,><»jii.AiNJj FARMER. May Well may the student of nature, impressed ■with the magnificence and mystery of his subject, inquire — "Are not the mountain waves and skies, a part Of me, and of my soul, as I of them ? Is not the love of them deep in my heart With a pure passion ? Should I not contemn All objects, if compared with these, and stem A tide of suffering, rather than forego Such feelings for the hard and worldly phlegm Of those whose eyes are turned below. Gazing upon the ground, with thoughts that dare not glow ?" It is at this delightfial season that we come into closest contact with this principle. The farmer, as he walks his fields, sees its operations in all the varied form of beauty and utility which surround him ; in the rock hidden in the soil ; in the slen- der stalk and the tapering spire ; in the verdant leaf and the iris-colored flower, as well as in the insect, whose tiny form and iridescent wings glance in tremulous beauty in the golden sunbeam — an insignificant atom in itself, but a link, neverthe- less, in the great chain of which even man him- self, with all his boasted intelligence and godlike powers of acting and reflecting, is but a perisha- ble part ! Although we can necessarily know little of life, as a principle, we may yet know something of its laws, and the conditions of its development. In it all the hopes of the husbandman are involved and wrapped up. "Without it, his fields are bar- ren, and all his costly acres unproductive proper- ty. With it, he has more than the fabled power of Midas, whose touch turned everything into gold. On every acre he may open a mine quite as productive as the plains of the Pacific shore. How few of these have yielded a hundred dollars to the acre ; yet this is no uncommon feat of hus- bandry in the least favored of our States. The dreams of poets and philosophers are more than realized in modern agriculture." No employment bequeaths such placid and tran- quil memories, filling the heart with quiet glad- ness, and sufi'using the spirit with a holy atmos- phere in which no corroding anguish — no distrust- ing bitterness or regret can exist. All its images retain through life, a pleasant and grateful hue ; they are blended with no deep sorrow, no dark remorse, no haunting shame, and are Imked with those associations, which, if touched by a senti- ment, are never blighted by a passion. Time fok Heifers to Come In. — An English writer considers it a matter of importance that heifers should be so managed as to have their first calf late in the spring, when there is an abundance of succulent food, inducing a large supply of milk. This is much better than to have them come in early in spring when they have dry food only. The habit at first formed is apt to remain with them, and if they commence by giving a good supply of milk, they will be more likely to be good milkers afterwards. — N. H. Jour, of Agriculture. CHILD LIFE AMONG THE BECHUANAS. Until the child begins to change its teeth it lays from morning till evening, and has nothing to do but to grow as fast as possible. We have noticed among these little idlers many of the games of our childhood ; for instance, two little girls will seat themselves side by side in a very mysterious manner ; one of them picks up a stone, and pass- ing it rapidly from one hand to the other, presents her two fists to her companion, that she may guess in which hand the pebble is. If the guesser is mistaken, the other exclaims triumphantly, "f7a ya incha, kia ya kliovio" (You eat the dog, I eat the beef;) in the opposite case she declares her- self to be vanquished by saying "/u'a ya inclia, ua ya kJiomo" (I eat the dog, you eat the beef;) and she delivers the stone to her friend. Playing with bones, which they call kefa, jump- ing, and at the same time passing a long cord un- der the feet, are favorite sports of the African children. Afterward come racing, wrestling and sham fights. These latter exercises are more especially prac- ticed in the fields, where it is the duty of e.ery little boy of eight years old to drive daily the sheep and goats of his father. These young shep- herds contrive to pass their time as agreeably as possible. In spite of the orders continually given them to disperse themselves, so that the flocks may find abundant pasturage, they invariably end by getting together. There is always a chief of the band among them, who presides at the games, and prevents quarrelling. When they are tired of running about, they sit down in the shadow of a rock, or upon the banks of a stream, and amuse themselves by making oxen of clay, or weaving garlands of flowers, with which they adorn their heads. The girls of the same age do not eijjoy so much liberty. They go to the fields with their mothers, and while the latter dig up the ground, they pick up sticks, and make the faggot which will serve to cook the evening meal. Sometimes they are left at home to take care of a younger brother. — Bev. E. Casalis. The Railroads of Massachusetts. — From the abstract of the returns of the several railroad corporations in Massachusetts for the year ending Nov. 30th, 1862, prepared at the State House, we learn that the total capital stock of the steam railroads is $59,487,752, with a capital paid in of $49,287,517, and a debt of $18,411,221. The cost of these railroads and their equipments was $66,793,574 ; their length 1608 miles. The trains of these roads have run 6,561,854 miles during the year, carrying 12,020,315 passengers aiid 3,877,717 tons of freight. The total income was $9,933, 586 ; total expense of working $5,448,- 231, leaving a net income of $3,581,657 ; total amount of dividends $2,397, 949 ; number of fa- tal casualties 72 ; not fatal 15. The horse railroads of Massachusetts are twen- ty-two in number, with a paid in capital of $2,- 582, 150, and a debt of $790,546.. The cost of the various railroads has been $2,443,587, and of equipment, $820,447. Their length is 87 miles. Number of passengers carried, 14,854,885 ; total income, $874,349 ; expenses, $663,152. Net in- come, $200,345, of which amount $147,023 was divided among stockholders. Three fatal acci- dents have occurred, and 12 persons were injured. l^fiS. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 139 h'i'T tlw Sen- JCnglanU Parmer. KICKING COWS. Mr. Editor ; — I have seen some remarks rel- ative to kicking cows, in the Farmer and several other papers, and the various methods adopted by different individuals for i)!-caking them of this pernicious trick, all of which 1 liave tried, only one of them resulting in any l>encfit — which is this: "When the cow kicks., with the right hand hold fast to the teat, slajjping her smartly with tlie left." But this method is not to be relied on only in ordinary cases, although I have seen sev- eral ^cured in this way. In two or thi-ee it has had no effect, as was the case with a cow of my own. The method I have adopted is this : When the cow kicks, catch the foot in the hand and draw it close to the cow's body, holding it there until she settles back on you, then let go of it. After sev- eral vain attempts at kicking, the cow finding her- self caught in her own trap, is very careful how- she takes up her foot while milking, and much more how she puts it down. This method I adopted with a cow of my own, and it resulted effectually ; and several of my neigh- bors have since tried it with like results. You must bear in mind that we tried every way with which we were acquainted without any effect. Thinking that some of the readers of the Farmer might be interested as I have been in this matter, I have at last concluded to forward my cxjierience in relation to the matter to the columns of the Farmer, it being a paper I have taken for more than six years. Eleuv. ^trajbrd, 1% 1863. Fur the Ae«r England Fanner. ketrospective notes. "Dry Food for Hogs" — Success in- Pork- Making. — Page 10. — In this brief, but suggestive item from the Counini (rcntlriKan, we have a state- ment of some of the hurtful consequences of a rather too common error in the feeding of hogs. The error alluded to consists, not in feeding dry food, as the caption of the article might lead one to suppose, but ia an exactly opposite practice, namely, that of giving hogs their food in a too li- quid or over-diluted condition. Some turn all their dish-washings and other similar slops into their swill-barrel, and neglecting to thicken it suf- ficiently with meal, bran, boiled potatoes or oth- er solid material, their hogs get, during the early part of their life, a too watery substance, the swill being little better than a little milk and a few cold potatoes from the table with a little meal or bran, perhaps, too much c'iluted with dish-washings and such like watery and innutritious Huids. Among the jjernicious consequences flowing from this cru- el and heedless practice of forcing hogs to swal- low an immense quantity of thin, watery swill, in order to get the small quantity of really nourish- ing matter which is intermixed with it, are the fol- lowing : The hogs do not grow and gain in Hesh, as all well fed and well managed pigs do, all the time, from their entrance upon to tlieir exit from the stage; they become stunted and comparativtly poor, so much so tliat no amount of corn or other fattening food, in subsequent months, will ever make them as large or as healthy as they might otherwise have been ; their digestive organs seem to become disordered as subsequent better feed- ing appears to do them, often, but little good ; and thev become big-bellied, ill-proportioned, and unseemly creatures, compared with those wliich have less watery and more nutritious food during the period of growth. If any of our readers fail to make their spring pigs weigh from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds at the age of nine months, or from two hundred and seventy-five to three hun- dred pounds at ten months, or a little over, it may be suspected that there is an error somewhere in their mode of feeding, or of managing otherwise. It may be in their failure to select a good breed, l)ut mucli more frequently, we presume, the error may be found in the mode or materials employed in feeding, and, in many cases, we are quite 'confi- dent, in the very practice upon wliich we have been commenting. Those who fail to raise hw^s to be of the weights above named, at the ages mentioned, may feel assured that there is an error somewhere in their modes of maaagemeut in pork- making, — an error which brings with it, as a pen- alty, the loss of a good many jjounds of pork, which might have been obtained by a better mode of management. And if any such should be wil- ling to be at a little pains to find out where their error is, or by what method they may hereafter succeed better, or secure better luck, we think they would be abundantly repaid for the time and j)ains taken, if they would refer to, read and con- sider well all the articles upon swine and pork- making which are contained in volume Kkh of this journal, which is the volume issued during 1801. On pages 10 and 113 of that volume they will find an exposure of the error of feeding with too bulky or too much diluted food; on page 11, a condemnation of the jnactice of keeping hogs in filthy pens ; on page G9 a statement of the proper amount to which hog-feed should be dilut- ed ; on page 114, a reference to the decided suc- cess of Mr. L. Long, of llolyoke, who feeds meal in the dry state, and slops or other drink sepa- rately ; on page 348, "A Model Pork-Maker's Mode of Management," with the result, namely, his making his pigs, at ten months old, dress over 400 lbs. ; and on page 'Soo, a similar success by the editor. These and other items may be found in the volume referred to. "Vegetable Growth." — Page 14. — Who can read this article without having emotions of rev- erence, gratitude and wonder awakened by the brief glimpses which it gives of the wisdom and goodness of the Infinite Architect, and of the marvellous processes by which He clothes the earth with beauty, and makes it Iiring fortli abun- dance, both for man and beast I If any one has read this article witliout having some such emo- tions stirred up within him, we fear he has road it too hurriedly, or too superficially. He might get different impressions from it, if he should turn to it and read again. The writer asks, "Would it not be interesting to all who labor to assist the corn to grow, to study the mysteries of vegetable growth ? Would we not like to know the elements of which the seed is composed, what chemical changes take place in it during germinabion, how the plant draws nourishment from the earth," how the liquid sap is converted into solid substance, how the stalk selects one kind of substance from the sap, the seed another kind, and so on, and how all these selected atoms are arranged so as to enlarge stem, 140 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mat leaf, flower, seed, and every other part of this one of the many millions of plants in which God is working wonders every day ? In reply to these questions, may we not venture to speak in the name of hundreds of readers, and say that we ■would like to know ever more and more about these and all the other wonderful workings of Him who does so much for unappreciative and ungrate- ful children. We would like if the writer of the article under notice would spread out before farm- ers and their families some information as to the growth of our common Indian corn, and let them see and feel that God is doing a far greater amount of work in prepai-ing for the desired har- vest of golden grain than the most skilful or most industrious of those whose highest honor is to be "co-workers" with Him ! And if he should find time to tell us these things which, in reply to his question, we say we would like to know, we would humbly suggest that if he would put the informa- tion into the form of a lecture or lesson to a class of young persons, he might contribute somewhat towards giving the farmers of New England an idea of what their sons might be learning at school if studying the applications of botany and chemistry to the elucidation of the facts and phe- nomona of agriculture. More Anon. Fw the New England Farmer. PROFITS OF FOWLS. Mk. Editor : — I herewith send you the yearly account of my flock of Brahma fowls. Having spoken before of the merits and superiority of this breed of fowls over all others, it would be but a repetition of the same story again to describe them, I will only say that my opinion is still unchanged ; that they surpass in laying qualities, and for the market, any breed of fowls I have ever seen. In prepainng the folloTrting statement, I have kept the market prices, although 85 dozen of the eggs were sold for setting, last spring, at $1 per dozen, and many were used for the same purpose by myself. I have, therefore, averaged them at 25 cents per dozen, to show the profit these fowls •will return to the farmers, at common market prices. It will be noticed that I had but few eggs in April, as many of the hens were setting at that time. I commenced March 1, 1862, with 30 pul- lets and 2 roosters, keeping a careful account of expenses and income, which stands as follows : EXPENSE OF KEEPING 32 FOWLS. 1862. March, meal, corn, carrots and meat $3,79 April, " " " " 3,46 May, " " " " 3,02 June, " " " " 4,22 Julj', " « " " 3,90 To Aug. 8 , at which time they were sold 70 — $19,09 EXPENSE OF REARING 101 CHICKENS. 1862. May, potatoes, cracked corn, and scraps $1,12 June, cracked corn and scraps 2,50 July, " " " 3,30 Aug., " " « 3,40 Sept., corn, meal and scraps 3,35 Oct., " " " 3,20 Nov., '* «' " and carrots 3,00 Dec, " " « " " 3,30 1863. Jan., com, meal and scraps, carrots 2,98 Feb., " " " " 2,85 March," " " " 2,24— $31,24 $50,33 The variation in keeping the young fowls is oc- casioned by disposing of them through the sum- mer, as will be seen by the statement. From November to the 1st of March I have had 30 pul- lets on hand. INCOME FROM FOWLS. 1862. March 488 eggs April 199 " May 480 " .June 496 " .July .390 " To Aug. 8 108 " Net..... 2,161 eggs, or 180 112 dozen, at 25 cts $45,02 Aug. 8, .30 fowls sold at $1 each 30,00 Aug. 12 young roosters to butcher, 40 cts 4,80 .Sept., 22 pullets and 8 roc^ters, SI 30,00 Sept., 2 dozen eggs sold 50 Oct., 17 fowls, $1 17,00 Oct., 8 dozen eggs, 25 cts 2,00 Nov., 36 dozen eggs, 25 cts , 9,00 Nov., 12 fowls, 7o cts.,,. 9,00 Dec, 35'4 dozen eggs, 25 cts..... 3,81 1863. Jan., 44 dozen eggs, 25 cts 11,00 Feb., 42?^ dozen eggs, 25 cts 10,69 Mar., 46% dozen eggs, 25 cts 11,69 Net income from fowls .,...$189,51 Expense of keeping, &c 50,33 Net profit $139,19 Salem, March, 1863. John S. Ives. Fur the New England Farmer. HOW TO BE FITTED FOB THE PUK- SITITS OF LIFE. Mr. Editor : — Being a constant reader of the Farmer, within the last few months 1 have ob- served several articles advocating the necessity of making some work on agriculture a text-book in our common schools. The idea has been ad- vanced that too little attention is given to the in- struction of youth in our rural districts in the science of agriculture ; while great care is given to instruct the pupil in what are termed the learned professions, but very little attention is given to fit the young to follow with success that profession which is the foundation of all others. The reader would infer that in our common schools are taught the sciences of medicine, law and the- ology ; while the lad who is destined to follow the plough must go untaught and uncared for. It cannot be denied that common schools and those of a higher grade have each their own ap- propriate work, and while both are foithful in training the mind, their labor is the same in kind, though not in degree. It is equally true that while the scholars have their round of duties as- signed, the days of active busine.ss which follow are not without their work for such individuals to perform. _ When the little boy first finds his way to the district school, it is hard to determine whether he is to be a farmer, mechanic or philos- opher. But we do know there is a casket that contains a priceless gem ; unpolished it may be, but susceptible of the highest finish, and its value will be proportioned to the perfectness of the ar- tist's work. It is conceded that all boys should learn to read. All should learn arithmetic, grammar, history and geography, and should obtain some knowledge of the natural sciences. And if circumstances per- mit, some knowledge of the higher mathematics would be valuable. We have already sufficient work for the schooldays allotted to American youth, without making direct preparation for any particular profession. Through all these years the faculties of the mind have been developing, and the individual has been gaining that disci- pline v;hich will fit him to become a useful citizen 1863. NEW ENGLAND FAR>rER. 141 and a successful business man. He has now ar- rived at that lime of life, when, if ever, he is ca- pable to decide for himself what calling he shall pursue. His mind has become sufficiently ma- ture to enter upon the work of life with an ear- nest endeavor to excel in whatever he undertakes. If he is to be a farmer, now is the time for him to learn both the theor}" and practice of his profes- sion. If he wishes to be a physician, he must ap- ply or see his theory when learned put to practi- cal test, ia order to be successful. So it is with M'hatever ])ursuit to which he may turn his atten- tion. Some require more scientific research than others ; but to become successful in any, the stud- ies of early schooldays should be pursued by all. Every mind should be properly discijjlined, and needs a certain amount of general culture to fit the individual to work in any of the departments of human industry. Ilence, the conclusion that our common schools have now assigned all the work the}' can well do in the time allowed them. Let them teach the children those elementary principles which lie at the foundation of all right mental discipline. Let them do thoroughly their allotted tasks — not forgetting to mould the plas- tic miud, committed to their care, so that the young man as he goes forth from them may be an intellectual, moral, law-abiding citizen, ready for every good work. E. Middiebiuy, VI., Feb., 1863. PRUIflNG GOOSEBERRY TREES. The gooseberry, though a useful and early fruit, is very generally neglected, no other attention be- ing paid to it, than to prune the tree at random, once a year. The crop of fine fruit is also often injured by having the largest and earliest berries previously gathered for tarts, while green. To prevent this, a sufficient number of trees of the earliest varieties should be planted in a separate part of the garden, and devoted exclusively for use when required for tarts. Both these and the other trees which are in- tended to bear ripe fruit, .fhoidd be pnated twice i)i the year : in the autumn as soon as tlie shoots have rii)ened their wood, leaving at least six inch- es distance between every branch, and shortening the small branches to two or three eyes. Again, the trees should be examined about the middle or end of June, and all improper suckers, and very luxuriant shoots, such as the French call (jovr- mandg, cut out; both these oj^erations should l)e done with a sharp pruning knite. — Loivdjm Ilorti- cuUiu-al Traiiiiwctioii.1. Yarn from Milkwkkd. — Mr. Marsh Heath- cott, a cotton manufacturer of Patterson, N. J., has succeeded in spinning yarn from the fibres of milk- weecL The yai-n is favorably spoken of; though bow it may be adapted to withstanding moisture, or receiving dyes, we have not heard. Mr. 11. estimates that an acre of land might yield sl20 Tvorth per annum of tnis product. Patent Oi-fick Bisinkss, — The annual report of the Commissioner of Patents shows that Sli>'i>- 818 were received for patents, re-issues, &:c., and $11,081 for copies and recording. The expenses were $182,800. The cost for clerk hire was up- wards of $122,000, of which §44,462 were for temporary clerks. PARMEHS' 'WnVES OVERTAXED. There is scarcely any lot in life, in this country, which promises so much quiet enjoyment, such uniform health and uninterrupted ])*rosj)erity, as that of a gentleman farmer's wife ; of a man "who has a well-improved, well-stocked plantation, all paid for, with no indebtedness, and a sufficient surplus of money always at command, to meet emergencies, and to take advantage of those cir- cumstances of times, and seasons, and changing conditions which are constantly presenting them- selves. Such a woman is incomparably more certain of living in quiet comfort to a good old age than the wife of a merchant prince, or one of the money-kings of Wall Street ; who, although they may clear thousands in a day, do, neverthe- less, in multitudes of cases, die in poverty, leaving their wives and daughters to the sad heritage of being slighted and forgotten by those who once were made happy by their smiles ; and to pine .^way in tears and destitution. On the other hand, it is often a sad lot indeed to be the wife of a farmer who begins married life by renting a piece of land or buying a "place" on credit, with the moth of "interest" feeding on the sweat of his face every moment of his existence. The affectionate and steady interest, the lauda- ble pride, and the self-denying devotion which wives have for the comfort, prosperity, and respec- tability of their husbands and children, is a prov- erb and a wonder in all civilized lands. There is an abnegation of self in this direction, as constant as the flow of time ; so loving, so uncomplaining, so heroic, that if angels make note of mortal things, they may well look down in smiling admir- ation. But it is a melancholy and undeniable fact, that in millions of cases, that which challenges angelic admiration fails to be recognized or appre- ciated by the very men who are the incessant ob- jects of these high, heroic virtues. In plain lan- guage, in the civilization of the latter half of the nineteenth century, a farmer's wife, as a too gen- eral rule, is a slave and a drudge ; not of necessi- ty, by design, but for want of that consideration, the very absence of which, in reference to the wife of a man's youth, is a crime. It is perhaps safe to say, that, on three farms out of four, the wife works harder, endures more, than any other on the place ; more than the husband, more than the "farm-hand," more than the "hired help" of the kitchen. Many a farmer speaks to his wife, ha- bitually, in terms so imperious, so impatient, so petulant, that if repeated to the scullion of the kitchen, would be met with an indignant and speedy departure, or if to the man-liel]), would be answered with a stroke from the shoulder, which would send the churl reeling a rod away ! In another way a farmer inadvertently increases the hardships of his wife ; that is, by speaking to her or treating her disrespectfully in the presence of the servants or children. The man is natural- ly the ruling spirit of the household, and if he fails to show to his wife, on all occasions, that tender- ness, affection and respect which is her just due, it is instantly noted on the part of menials, and children too, and they very easily glide into the same vice, and interpret it as an encouragement to slight her authority, to undervalue her judg- ment and to lower that high standard of respect, which of right belongs to her. .\nd as the wife : lias the servants and children always about her, 142 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May and is under the necessity of giving hourly instruc- tions, the want of fidelity and ])romptness to these is sufficient to derange the whole household and utterly thwart that regularity and system, with- out which there is no domestic enjoyment and but little thrift on the farm. The indisputable truth is, that there is no other item of superior, or perhaps equal importance, in the happy and profitable management of any farm, great or small, than that every person on it should be made to understand that deference, and respect, and prompt and faithful obedience, should be paid, under all circumstances, to the wife, the mother and the mistress ; the larger the farm, the greater interests there are at stake. If poor, then the less ability is there to run the risk of losses which are certain to occur in the failure of proper obe- dience. An illustration : A tardy meal infallibly ruffles the temper of the workmen, and too often of the husband; yet all the wife's orders were given in time ; but the boy has lagged in bring- ing wood, or the cook failed to put her loaf to bake in season, because they did not fear the mistress, and the master was known not to be very partic- ular to enforce his wife's authority. If by these causes a dinner is thrown back half an hour, it means on a good-sized farm a loss of time equiv- alent to the work of one hand a whole day ; it means the very considerable difference between working pleasantly and grumbliugly the remain- der of the day ; it means in harvest time, in show- ery weather, the loss of loads of hay or grain. Time, and money, and health, and even life it- self, are not unfrequently lost by a want of ])romp- titude on the part of the farmer in making re- pairs about the house, in procuring needed things in time, and failing to have those little convenien- ces which, although their cost is even contemptible, are in a measure practically invaluable. I was in a farmer's house one night ; the wife and two daughters were plying their needles industriously by the light of a candle, the wick fif which was fre- quently clipped off" by a pair of scissors. I asked the husband why he did not buy a candle-snufler. "O, the scissors are good enough." And yet he owned six hundred acres of fine grazing lands, and every inch paid for. I once called on an old friend, a man of education and of a family, loved and honored all over his native State. The build- ings were of brick, in the centre of an inherited farm of several hundred acres. The house was supplied with the purest, coldest and best water from a well in the yard ; facilities for obtaining which were a rope, one end of which was tied to a post, the other to an old tin pan, literally. The discomfort and unnecessary labor involved in these two cases may be estimated at leisure. I know it to be the case, and have seen it on many Western farms, when firewood was wanted, a tree was cut down and hauled bodily to the door of the kitchen ; and when it was all gone, another was drawn up to supply its place ; giving the cook and the wife green wood with which to kindle and keep up their fires. There are thousands of farms in this country, where the spring which supplies all the water for drink and cooking, is from a quarter to more than half a mile distant from the house, and a "pailful" is brought at a time, involving five or ten miles' walking in a day, for months and years together ; when a man in half a day could make a slide and with a fifty cent barrel could in half an hour de- liver, at the door, enough to last the whole day. How many weeks of painful and expensive sick- ness ; how many lives have been lost of i*"ives, and daughters, and cooks, by being caught in a sbow- er between the linuse and the spring, while in a state of perspiration or weakness, from working over the fire, cannot be known ; but that they num- ber thousands, will not be intelligently denied. Many a time, a pane of glass has been broken out, or a shingle has been blown from tire roof, and the repair has not been made for weeks or many months together ; and for want of it have come agonizing neuralgias ; or a child has. waked up in the night with the croup, to get well only with a doctor's bill, which would have paid twen- ty times for the repair ; even if a first-born has not died, to agonize u mother's heart to the latest hour of life ; or the leak in the roof has remained, requiring the placing of a bucket oif the washing of the floor at every rain ; or the "spare bed" has been wetted and forgotten ; some visitor, or kind neighbor, or dear friend has been placed in it, to wake up to a fatal fever, as was the case with the great Lord Bacon. — HaU's Jowiial af Health. THE OLD PABM HOUSE. At the foot of the hill, near the old red mill. In a quiet, slindy spot. Just peei>in!? through, half hicT from view, Stanils ii Jittle moss-pronn cot ; And strayin;^' thron^ih jit the open door. The sunbeams play on the sanded floor. The easy chair, all patchr-d with care. Is placed by the old liearth stone ; With witching prace, in the old fire-place. The evergreens are strewn, And pictures 5i;uig on the wFxitened wall And tlie old clock ticks in the cottage hall. More lovely slifl, on the window sill. The dew-eyed flowers rest. While anidst the leaves, on the moss-gr&wn -esTCS, The martin builds hey nest. And all day long the summer breeze Is whispering love to the bending trees. Over the door, all covered o'er With a sack of dark preen baize. Lays a musket old, ^vhose voi th is toM In the-events of'Other days ; And the pnwdur flask, and the liunter's horiJ. Have hung beside it for many a inorn. For years have fled, with a noiseless tread. Like faii-y dreams away, And left in their fliyht, ail shorn of his might, A father — oM and gray ; And the soft wind plays with liis snow-white hair As the old man sleeps in lus easy chair. In at the donr, on the sanded floor. Light, fairy footsteps glide, Anil a maiden fair, with flaxen hair. Kneels '^ the old man's side — An old oak wrecked by the angry storm. While the ivy clings to its trembliDg form. BeAVEKS NEAR SACRAMENTO. — A colony of beavers, the Bee says, have commenced work on the banks of American River, at Smith's Garden. They have cut down a row of trees, epch one of which is made to fall with its top in the river. Some of the stumps are six inches in diameter, cut a foot and a half from the ground. They seem to prefer the Cottonwood. A dozen were seen on a moonlight night, sporting and working. When doctrines mischievous in themselves are recommended by the good life of their author, it is like the arming of a depraved woman with beauty. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 143 NEW BOOKS. These fanners feed their meal drv. This is a """tZ^^^^^^^'l^r^^^'-'f^T i:^^^ i» l^'«^"i"S beef and York ; )inrper & Brotiiers, I'ubiishtrs. 1 Vol., 8\o.", 420 pp. i '^^^"^e, as well as teeding COWS lor milk, has been Price $5 00. j to i)our boiliiit,' water on as much meal us would The author of tliis work was appointed by the ' "?\"^'»1^'; the aiumal'.s bowels move too freely, at ' night and in the mornin-i: ; wlien the mush is cool, give it to the cow or i)i Governor of California, under a legislative act, to report the "ways and means best adajited to pro- mote the improvement and culture of the grape vine ill California." He accordingly visited vari- ous parts of France, the Netherlands, Holland, Rhenish Prussia, Bavaria, Nassau, Baden, Switz- erland, Spain, Italy and England. After travers- al covering the meal with boiling water in this way, the starch of the grain is dissolved, and the latent nutritive i)roperties extracted, and tlic ani- mal receives the enlire nutriment of the grain. I calculate stock do not, in eating dry meal, re- ceive more than one-half of the goodiu-ss of the meal. There is not action enough in mastication, ing these countries with a scrutinizing eye and an | oi' heat sufficient in the stoinacii of the animal, to inquiring mind, the author came to the conclusion that California is superior in all the conditions of soil, climate and other natural advantages, to the most favored wine-producing districts of Europe, and that it actually has yielded considerably more per acre. • He is satisfied, he says, that even if the separate advantages of these countries could be combined in one, it would still be surpassed by California, when its now dormant resources shall be developed ; that it can produce as noble and generous wine as any in Europe ; more in quanti- ty to the acre, and without repeated failures through frosts, summer rains, hailstorms, or other causes. It is his opinion, also, that no country can sur- pass California in raising the sugar beet. Sorgho and Imphee, and that no part of the world, ex- cept, perhaps, Africa, can produce the same quan- tity of these commodities to the acre. The work seems to contain everything necessa- ry to teach one to produce grapes and make wine successfully. It is printed on fine paper, large type, and abundantly illustrated with engravings. It has a short paper on the Culture of the Silk Worm, one on the Manufacture of Potato-Starchi one on Grape Sugar, one on Beet Sugar, and one on Sorgho and Imphee. Complete Manual o>- the Cultivation- of Todaco. New- York ; C. M. Saxtou, Publisher. 1 Vol., IGmo. Price 25 cts. This is one of our old friend Saxton's hand- books, and the only one with pernicious tenden- cies we have ever known him to publish. Al- though it is in his usual good style, our hope is that no one will read it or practice its teachings. For sale by A. Williams & Co., 100 Washington Street, Boston. extract and receive the entire and real sweetness of the grain. Had I roots, I should feed them to my fattening beef But not having any, I feed only meal and hay, and I have fatted two ordinary sized cows, two years past, and to which I fed otdy three cwt. of meal each, and they each yielded upwards of forty pounds rough tallow. Once a week, 1 throw into the musli a little salt, and occasionally a table spoonful of wood ashes. My experience teaches me that one cwt. of meal fed as described above, is equal to two cwt. fed dry. Try it, young farmer, and see if you can in- dorse this. Qui Nlxc. East Granville, Feb. 17, 1863. Por the New Kn island Farmer. FEEDING MEAL TO STOCK. Doubtless many of your readers have had longer experience in feeding meal, and perhaps know as economical and effectual a manner of feeding it, I leave his master's body ; and as the coat was Fi/r the A'eir England Fanner. ' FIDELITY OF A DOG. Mk. Browx :— When Col. G. L. Prescott, of the Massachusetts 32d Regiment was at home a few weeks since, I was among a crowd of eager listeners to hear his thrilling story of the battle of Fredericksburg. Among other incidents he men- tioned a dog that attracted much attention. The ground was covered with men, either lying to es- cape the enemy's fire, or fallen to rise no more. This dog continually ran in and out among them, searching for his master, or entreating somebody to follow him. The following, from the Inquirer, probably re- fers to the same faithful animal. I have no doubt a later visitor will find him keeping watch and ward over the soldier's grave. w. D. B. Concord, Mass., March, 1863. As Hon. John Covode, in company with a num- ber of officers, was passing over the l)attlc-field beyond Fredericksburg, after the liattle, their at- tention was called to a small dog lying by a corpse. Mr. Covode halted a few minutes to see if life was extinct. Raising the coat from the man's face, he found him dead. The dog, looking wisifully up, ran to the dead man's face and kissed his si- lent lips. Such devotion in a small dog was so singular, that Mr. Covode examined some papers upon the body, and found it to be that of Ser- geant W. H. Brown, Co. C, {'Ist Pennsylvania. The dog was shivering in the cold, l)ut refused to as the subscriber. I believe there are a few, at least, of your patrons, like many farmers whom 1 know, who feed from four to eight quarts of meal a day to one beef creature, till they feed from seven to ten cwt. of meal to one beef, and who never slaughter an ordinary sized l)eef that yields up- wards of forty pounds of rough tallow. thrown over his face again, he seemed very unea- sy, and tried to get under it to the man's fice. lie had, it seems, followed the regiment into hat- tie, and stuck to his master, and when he fill, re- mained with him, refusing to leave him or to cat anything. As the party returned, an ambulance was carrying the corpse to a little grove of trees 144 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May for interment, and the little dog following, the only mourner at that funeral, as the hero's com- rades had been called to some other point. For the New England Farmer. THE "WICKED TYPE-SETTEKS. Mr. Editor : — Is it not at least as bad to make other people tell a fib as to tell it right out square- ly one's self? If it is, the modern type-setters have much to answer for — even yours are not without fault. And perhaps this habit of theirs may show the appropriateness of the customary application to the youngest apprentice, of the name of the "devil," who is "the father of lies." For instance, in the last numl)er of the Fanner, J. S. Ives is made to say that he dug from a lot meas- uring three-fourths of a square rod, 14i bushels of sweet potatoes. This would be more than 18 bushels to the square rod, and 2880 bushels, or over 86 tons (ac 60 pounds to the bushel,) per aci'e. Of course Mr. Ives never could have writ- ten such a — story. In the South, 400 or uOO bush- els to the acre "is often raised ;" in Ohio, from 100 to 150 bushels is the "usual" crop. In this section, jirobably not so much as that can be relied on. Please caution your type-setters so that we, who want to depend on what the papers tell us, may not be misled into new schemes by extrava- gant stories. Again, in the Transactions of the Middlesex Agricultui-al Society for 1862, I perceive that oth- er type-setters have made the respected Chairman of the committee on "Milch Cows — Blood Stock," say, in comparing two cows, that "the value of the milk of Mr. Wheeler's cow, at 3 cents a quart, for thirty days, would exceed that of Mr. Barrett's by $25,20." The difference is said to have been 4 quarts a day ; and this, by my arithmetic, at 3 cents a quart, for 30 days, comes a good deal short of $25,20. Indeed, the whole milk, given by the best of the cows named, would not, at that price, come to near that sum. Now, friend Lawson never could have made such a mistake ; it must be the fault of the wicked printers, who seem bound to tell big stories. Hoping for a reformation among the printers, I remain Yours for the truth, JONATUAN DOOLITTLE. Elm Lodge, Feb. 16, 1863. Remarks. — Neither of the "errors" which our correspondent so facetiously describes, are attribu- table to the "wicked type-setters." On reference to Mr. Ives' letter we find that it was printed "ac- cording to copy." By the following note, received since the above was in type, our corresi)ondent will perceive where and what was the mistake he refers to : Correction. — In the communication from me on the culture of the sweet potato, I find that the printers or myself have made a slight, but very important mistake. The land measured It rods, instead of | of a rod, as printed. Salem, March, 1863. John S. Ives. Raspberries. — The Albany Country Qcntleman advertises 500,000 Dool'dUe Raspberries for sale. We think, from the name, that we must have had some of this kind in our own garden. For the New England Farmer. OUR UOKTHERN FAKMERS. The present state of the country deeply involves the interest of the New England Farmer. The broken circle of many of our homes, by an un- just and outrageous war, and the broken hearts that bleed at the fireside for many of our noble sons, slain in battle, not only tell a tale of woe, but a loss of labor, that will tell in almost every farm home in New England, The great corn and wheat States, are decimated in a like ratio. Their bone and muscle, their vig- orous young men, too, are in hospitals, ui camp, or slain, or in the battle field manfully striving and fighting for the salvation of our common country. Here, too, is an immense loss of labor, and the grand question arises, how are we to make up these deficiencies ? The grain growing slave States of Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Car- olina, Tennessee and Virginia, must be reduced to straits which they so justly deserve. Their able- bodied white men are in the war. Their slaves will be laggard, sullen and lazy in the field. Their crops must come short. The foregoing hints would seem to form a ground work, and teach a lesson to all who till the soil in the New England State, that products of prime necessity must be lessened to an alarming extent by this immense loss of labor, not forgetting that millions are consumers, but not producers ! This terrible lesson of war that we are learning, will not be confined to the high prices of sugar, wool, cot- ton and woolen cloth, tea and coft'ee — but beef, pork, flour, corn and labor are sure to take the upward march in the scale of prices. We shall hear no more of burning ears of corn for fuel, or wheat rotting in the stack in consequence of low prices in the West. Wherever the New England Farmer circulates, let it propound questions to its readers — ask the father how many boys are left to till tlie farm ? Laborers will be scarce, the old men and boys must do the work, and, if need be, the generous hand of female labor would be volunteered in some instances, with honor to the sex. In Scotland, last April, I saw some 15 to 20 rollicking young girls spreading manure and planting seed. (A queer sight for a New England eye.) I thought it a praiseworthy occupation in that country, one which is universal in the old world. So in our own great West, females perform a larjje amount of farm la- bor. Dire necessity would only lead me to advo- cate the doctrine of female labor in the field. The next question is, the breadth of land, the manure, the cro])s — how much can be worked comfortably ? His manure heap is large as usual, he must plough a less number of acres, perhaps two in place of four ; time is gained in plowing and must be aj)plicd in hauling out the manure, and the happy result will be, larger crops will be gathered from half the number of acres, which a])- plies to every crop ; his land is |)ut in "good heart," and, to his surprise, he has been compelled to learn the first best lesson of his life. Instead of plough- ing, hociug, digging and spreading manure over four or five acres, he has realized tlie same pro- duct from two acres. Mr. Editor, can you endorse this statement ? The coming season beckons to the slothful far- mer witli more than usual meaning. His gates may be off the hinges, bars down, the old hat with- 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 145 out a head supply the place of a broken pane ; flour and corn were cheap last year — pork, and beef cheap too — his manure heap at the end of the barn lies in the road through the year ; but the day of reckoning may come to this slothful man sooner than may meet his convenience. These are war times — a southern, civil war, that has taken the Government by the throat, and threatens tlje northern people with the virus fangs of the copperhead. Our farms and workshops must be worked. Let seed-time find no laggards in the field. Let the warm upland hejlni manured and put into wheat, all you can spare ; let the other small grains follow, and when you get to the mouth of August, let the winter wheat be sown liberally, and, from spring and winter, you will have wheat to sell ! Mr. Editor, I feel that I am intruding upon your diminished columns, (yet it was a war necessity,) with all their former good, in a compressed form ; I feel tliat an idle hour may not have been misspent with your farm-readers. The great majority of our soldiers are farmers ; the immense products of their labor will be sensi- bly felt and diminshed ; neither war, nor the world, can go on without them. Hence, every appliance in its most compact, concentrated form, j)romises a good result by the abundance of manure on hand, which, if well spread and ploughed in deep, sel- dom injures the soil or dwarfs the crop. P. Brooklyn, L. I., March, 1863. For the Xetp England Farmer. TREES FOB SHADE, ORNAMENT AND PROFIT. Mr. Editor : — My thoughts have been turned to this sublet by an article which appeared in the Farmer ni-.r long since, on tlie "Cultivation of, Nuts," by 0. V. Hills, of this town. It seems to ' me some of his suggestions are well worthy the consideration of farmers, especially those which ' relate to cultivating walnut and chestnut trees, i which are natural or indigenous to many parts of j New England, and are not only profitable for the i nuts they produce, but their form or shape is gen- erally such as to make them suitable for shade and ornament, and when they have ceased to answer j these purposes, they are still valuable for the tini- 1 ber and fuel which they afford. If a portion of I the trees on Boston Common produced nuts, the I "city squirrels" there, and at least some of the children of the poor, might enjoy them without expense, and young men from the country would ' be reminded of the pleasant days, when with tlie ' girls they went nutting, I The meat of the butternut it seems to me is too oily to be healthy ; it requires pretty hard blows , to break the shell, and there is always more or less danger of cracking the fingers instead of the nuts. The tree is not very valuable even for fuel, and ^ would hardly be considered ornamental. 1 The c!ni is a graceful, noble tree, but it bears j nothing while growing, nor will anything else, (ex- cept perhaps grass,) grow within the range of its roots, and when the time comes to cut it down, 'tis no light labor to prepare the trunk for the saw- mill, and the branches for the stove. It was some- what diilerent in the days of old-fashioned fire- places which swallowed limbs and even logs, from six to eight feet long, and soon digested them. The buttonwood or sycamore is not as graceful as the elm, nor so good for timber, and Sambo might well say, when attempting to split a sjieci- men, the gram of which was uncommonly wind- ing, that he thought it would be a pretty tough match for the lighting. The oak has justly been styled the king of the forest, but does not lyipear to be so highly prized for shade and ornament as his prime minister, the rock maple, whose well-proportioned stately form, "Arraycfi in summer robe? of richest Rreen, Or autumn decked, when rainbow lints arc seen," is peculiarly adapted to these purposes. Nor is this all, for after attaining sufficient size, it yields an annual supply of sap, which can be converted into the sweetest of sugars, and also furnishes some of the best material for furniture and the fire. Not much can be said in favor of the various poplars, especially the old Lombardy, now near- ly extinct in this part of the country, but which in their day and generation looked like long lines of tall grenadiers, and were about as well calculat- ed for shade and ornament as so many liberty poles. I will not take the time and space to speak of the spruce and some other trees which might be mentioned, as I wish to make a few inqun-ies. Mr. Hills, in his communication, says that chestnuts vary in size, some being very large and others quite small. The same may be said respect- ing walnuts, and wlrile some ripen early and fall readily, (frost or no frost,) others do not mature until some weeks later, and even then cling to the tree tenaciously. There is also a difference in the color and taste or flavor of the meat and the ease with wliich it can be removed from the shell when cracked. In fact, some are worth twice as much as others, at least to keep, if not for the market. Now I wish to inquire if nuts can be grafted, or budded, and thus improved and made more profitable by raising only the best, as in Lhe case of fruits ? Can they be propagated in any man- ner except by planting the seed? Would the quality be improved, as well as the quantity in- creased, by manure and cultivation ? I liave about a hundred walnut trees, varying in size from an inch in diameter to more than a foot, and from five years old to at least an hundred. Between forty and fifty are within a few feet of the wall ii])on the north side of my farm, but some of the otliers have sprung up, as it were spontaneously, in places where I do not wish to have tlu-m remain ; but it is very difficult to remove this kind of tree successfully, even when rather small, on account of the dejith to wiiich the main or tap root de- scends. What would be the eflect to remove the earth fi-om one side, down some distance, sever the tap root, replace the soil and allow the tree to remain a year or two, and then remove it ; would it not be more likely to live, than if transplanted immediately ? Has any one made the experiment ? An answer to any of the above questions will much oblige your correspondent. a. c. w. Leominster, March, 18G.i. ^^ Late advices from Alexandria state that the crop of cotton in Eijypt promit'es to be most iilmn- dant this year. There will be not less than IsO.OOO bales for export, the quantity last year having been only 100,000. 146 XrVT £XGL.\XD F.\RMER. Mat EXTRACTS AZTD KEPLIES. [ ezce. If we all thought alike, there would be liale , Tiee<3 of tt:> Mper, or the dijcnssions at the Stiue ~ ■ -is surprise, howerer, 1 gniTelf asjen thai : liqciiis as drv muck. ."il wiih drv saad. and ;^A:5tr>a ax oir :oxs — EJLEss— ;. -• it, is so modi oxu-^r :h.;a :hat the spaces berweea the -.r. so that water passes away The coarser the sand, the more £5 ::::. The ammcnia in rcdn j portion of the sand - ^: does not afirect the best, dwarf or sSand^r '' : =30S( luidj for :. '~i planrting an : Someof :: -ot bear we := 5? Tcrv fae, that ; .r to pass awiiy -?T :-?-" ?::2hr. .we ri^ese :>ilk3 sand 1'23^ ir so - hai lalifrf. .:iee good tnm sad as :lr old oitiiard wi& I 14th is a piece from "X. Q j "Pigs — Diiease." By his I should call it the b!aii Company, ini'unn us throaeh that paper whether i: will increal^ the crop to which it ia applied so much that farmers can afford to parcha CUTS — SHZ£? FEVEF. — DTDE- PEM)E>T FARM:£K5. I Mr. Editor : — The man who lives near the seashore need not have a cold in the head, if he will duck it in the cold sea water as it floats to the ' S^you notice the caulker, you will find that ' ^"^ "^ I*° °^ ^'- ^- ^- ^^^ °^ ^'^ Y^'^ those troublesome cracks on the hand, or cuts, are \ *^^ editor of Hall's Jfrnnal of E«altk. From covered with oakum. i Ions and close observation, and from an extended The sheep fever is a malady that attacks many intercourse with the families of a large noaibar farmers. Look out and not have the wool pulled ^f fenners, we know that the Doctor bas not ex- over vour eves, brother farmers, for perhaps the j • i v i. j i^ advice of the clam-digger to his son, '^ever to go aggerated in the statements he has made, »h*rp clamming at high water,'' may be applicable to and glowing as they are. Many times, in sorrow your case. : and deep sympathy for the stifferers, have we al- Plant no more than can be well manured, is not luded to this matter, in ntimerous public addnss- heeded by many of those who raise small crops. ^^ ^^^^ ^j^^ £^^„ ^f y^^ England. The erfl I nave vet to see that class of people that uve . . . , , ." and enjoy' more of this life's comforts than the in- , " o"^ o^ 8^* magmtude, and is mi: _■ ■ * dependent farmer. Perhaps at times his son may candidates for an early grave with fear: .. enjoy the otier cap, which is put on the jop's head Thanks, many thanks to the philanthropic Doctor, to hide his lack of brains, or the fine coat with f^j ^^ timely and judicious effort to rescue fixjm which perhaps, to carr^- out the old adage which ^ ^ ^ng death thous«ds of our energetic and says, ''Fine feathers make fine birds ; but those , ," may deceive at a distance, while a near approach loTely women. reveals the deficiency. Heed not the fine array of silks that sweep the streets, for many of thein ' THE Best Label for fruit trees. »hrjS«, 5:c are purchased at the price of virtue. ' is a strip of tin about eight inches long and an I find that the orchardist who places his bins in inch wide, tapering to a point at one end. Paint a cool, dry atmosphere has fruit to seU in the this with white l«kd and mark the name with an spring. awl, scratching it through the paint. Bend the ••More Anon." in his "Retrospective Xotes,'' pointed end around a small limb of the tree, which criticises my writings on the use of muck, Arc, expands to its growth. So says the Awmital Bep^ doubting the correetness of the views therein I tjtar, and so adds the G«rw»amUmn Teiegr^tk. 148 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May FERMENTIIira MANURES. In our last club discussion, it being the third upon the subject of "manure and its application," one member recommended keeping manure for a year or more, if necessarj^, or until it was tliorougli- ly decomposed, chiefly for the purpose of destroy- ing foul seeds, claiming that if there were no such seeds sown by means of the manure, or with the grain sown, or by the wind or birds, or allowed to go to seed with hoed crops — that, eventually, our farms would be free from foul weeds. It was ob- jected by some that the end could iiever be accom- jylished on the ground that foul weeds were a fart of "the curse" upon fallen man ; that the seeds ■were in the earth, made and purposely put there by God, and consequently it would ever be in vain for man to strive to eradicate them. One member remarked that a friend told him that he had jjositive proof that kale seed would live in the earth and germinate after twenty years. Now, Messrs, Editors, how is it — will seeds ger- minate after having lain in a manure heap a year, while it is fermenting and becoming thoroughly decomposed ? The question, — whether manure can be suffic- iently heated to destroy the vitality of seeds, with- out greatly injuring the manure itself, — is a very interesting and important one. It is one upon •which we have experimented considerably without being able, as yet, to come to any well-settled conclusions as to that particular point. It needs to be conducted with great care, in order to be of value. The seeds, of various kinds, should be ad- ded to the manure, so that the experimenter shall know that they are there, and then the whole pro- cess conducted with the nicest accuracy in regard to the temperature of the heap, weather, &c. We have entertained the opinion that the compost heap may be fermented to such a degree as will destroy the vitality of seeds, without injuring the compost, but feel satisfied that it can only be done by exercising the greatest care during the process of fermentation. Some members affirmed that they were always troubled more by weeds from old manure than iiova fresh! Is it generally considered that it is bad policy, on the score of manunal value, to retain manure until well decomposed ? Some of our club mem- bers think there is a necessary loss of a large pro- portion of fertilizing matter when the manure de- composes out of the earth ; others think that the manure increases in net value more than 6 per cent., by being decomposed in the yard, and the practice of "R. B.," one of the most successful farmers in T., was cited in point. If we could do just as we please with the drop- pings of our stock, we would have them spread upon the ground and slightly covered, as often as an ox-cart full had accumulated. In that condi- tion, nothing whatever, we think, would be lost. Not only all the fertilizing qualities would be saved, but the fermentative process carried on in the ma- nure would have a beneficial mechanical effect up- on the soil. The finest crops we have ever pro- duced, have been obtained under this treatment, — all the liquids being retained among the solids, and spread and ploughed under three or four inches in the autumn. In the following spring, the ground was almost as mellow as an ash heap and unusually black. The crop that grew upon it sur- passed any other that have grown upon the farm. But to the question : — Manure will not ferment in a cold place. Whenever it becomes warm, and is moist, then fermentation begins, and this may be carried on until the manure becomes tender and may be finely divided by overhauling, so as to be convenient to use, or it may be carried on until its fertilizing qualities are nearly exhausted. When fermentation takes place, ammonia is set free, and there is some loss if the heap lies open, and especially when it is disturbed in being over- hauled. That loss, however, cannot be important. "The more complete the state of fermentation, if not carried too far, the more immediate will be the agency of the manure." In his "Elements," Johnson says that "it has been found that one ton of dry food and straw gives a quantity of farm-yard dung which weighs, When recent 46 to 50 cwt. After 6 weeks 40 to 44 " After 8 weeks 38 to 40 " When half rotten 30 to 35 " When fully rotten 20 to 25 " A part of this loss may, no doubt, be ascribed to the evaporation of a portion of the water of the recent dung ; but the larger part is due to an ac- tual escape of the substance of the manure itself. The farmer, therefore, who applies the manure from a given weight of food and straw, in a fresh state, adds more to his land than if he first allows it to become perfectly fermented. Were he to chop bis straw and put it in as it comes fresh from the field, he would add still more ; but its action as a manure would be slower, and while it would beneficially open stiff and heavy soils, it would in- jure others by making them too light and porous." Will several cords of manure in one pile become thoroughly decomposed in one season without forking over ? And can it be forked over without a loss of ammonia ? What we have said sufficiently answers this. How many inches of earth, or muck, covered over such a pile, would be a perfect prevention from loss during decomposition ? One or two inches of a clay, or even a sandy loam, would be sufficient. Some farmers cover up, in the centre of such a pile, a quantity of unslacked lime, to hasten fer- mentation. Is it advisable to do so ? We do not believe it would be advisable, under any ordinary circumstances. I am told that an agricultural school teacher, who has some one-half dozen evening schools m 1863. NEW ENGLAND FAR^rER. 149 operation in this vicinity, says that "fire-fang," or the burnjn|f of manure, is no injury ? Is it so ? Iiandol^)h, Vt., March, 18G3. QuERYMAN. It will be seen, by what we have already said, ihsitfa-mmfation, if carried too far, may be almost as destructive to a compost heap as conflagration itself, and we have quoted one of the highest au- thorities of the age to sustain us. Is there a farm- er among us, of any sort of observation, who has not at some time, seen a portion ol a manure heap nearly ruined by being too highly fermented ? Our practice is, to throw the manure of every kind, coarse and fine, into a compact heap, beating the coarse lumps to pieces and laying it up as lightly as possible. When this is done, we thrust smooth sticks as large as a hoe-handle, and twice as long, into the pile, four or five feet apart. In three or four days, these are drawn up, one after another, and the temperature of the pile ascer- tained by grasping the stick in the hand. Each stick should be kept in its place, as they will in- dicate different degrees of heat. Now, by exam- ining the heap where each stick was drawn, the true degree of heat will soon be learned, which is necessary to induce the amount of fermentation desired. There is no danger of loss in this pro- cess, where close attention is paid to the heap while the process is going on. It is a good plan, not to wait for a high degree of heat, but when the pile is fairly warmed through — which can al- ways be ascertained by the sticks — throw it over with a six-tined dung fork, and lay it up lightly as before. In this manner, if there be warm show- ers, any amount of coarse manure may be made fine in the course of twelve to fifteen days. SAVE THE BONES. In another column, we publish the advertise- ment of Henry A. Breed & Co., of Boston, who are manufacturing and selling a flour which close- ly resembles soiled or damaged flour of wheat and rye mingled, but which consists wholly of the ground bones of cattle reduced to fine flour by a powerful mill constructed for that purpose. It is pretty well known that bone and dried flesh are the basis or "stock" of nearly all our artificial fertilizers, which are more or less valu- able as "poudrettes" and "manures," just in pro- portion to the quantity of bones and dried flesh that has been worked into them or used in their chemical preparation. The raw bone, after boil- ing, we need hardly say, contains all that is re- quired by nature for a first-class manure, namely, phosphorus and nitrogen combined with lime and other elements in just the right proportions to fur- nish the food of plants. Bone and dried flesh may be said to bear the same relation to plants and fruits, as meat and bread to the body of man. Eneland is the largest consumer and buyer of bone, at present, and we are told that much of the bone saved in the United States is exported to Great Britain. This is an injury and waste which ought not to be allowed. When we send away our bone, we send away and sell for a small price the essential and productive body of the soil. If we value our own and our children's prosperity, we shall take care that all the bone made upon the soil of Massachusetts shall be constantly restored to that soil, when it is no longer serviceable as a part of the living animal. The Flour of Bone sold by our advertisers is warranted pure bone, with salt enough to keep it sweet, it being only five to ten per cent. From the known character of the advertisers we deem them entitled to perfect confidence. NEW BOOKS. The Field KXt> Gardes Vegetables op America ; contafning full Descriptions of nearly Eleven Hundreil Species and Vari- eties ; with Directions for Tropagating, Culture and Use. By Fearing Burr, Jr. Illustrated. Bobton: Cro«by & Xicbols. 1 vol., 8vo., 674 pp. Price 82 50. To those who have not access to other books of a like character, this will prove a useful and ac- ceptable work. It is well printed, and the illus- trations, from the pencil of Mr. Isaac Sprague, of Cambridge, are very beautifully drawn, and en- graved with considerable skill. The information contained in the book seems to be designed for popular use, and such a work, in the hands of every farmer and gardener, would be useful, — but the large, open pages, large type, fine paper and expensive binding, make it too costly, and will greatly limit its circulation. Indeed, but comparatively few who need the information it contains, will be able to avail themselves of its benefits. A large portion of its contents may al- ready be found in a much cheaper form. Americas Pomolooical Society. Proceetlings of the Ninth Session of the Society, held in Boston, Sept. 17, 18 and 1&, 1862. Published by the Society. This is a beautifully printed book of 227 pages, with a full index, showing the financial condition of the Society, the names of its members, and its transactions for the year 1862. The first impor- tant paper is the Address of the President, Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, and the next the Cata- logue presented by a committee, specially desig- nated to revise it. We have spoken of both of these papers in high terms, heretofore. Most of the remaining portion of the work is devoted to the discussions which took place at the annual meeting, and which we spoke of at the time. There is a paper on Orchard Culture in the West, one on the Straicbernj Famibj, a.id some State Reports. The work reflects great credit on its animated and harmonious members. Grumbling is all very well in its place. It is the deep bass that is needed to make up the full harmony of being. 150 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May For the New England Fanner, WOOL GROWING. It is a fault of New England that she runs of- tener to extremes than other countries possessing less enterprise and genius, and with less moral force. This is more clearly felt now than at any other period. New England has been the nurse- ry of American enterprise and prosperity. She has educated the farmers, the mechanics, the mer- chants and professional men for the whole coun- try, and in the future will feel the gx-eat draft of the whole country upon her energies, now that those energies are so diffused throughout a land so prolific as the West, where her sons and daugh- ters have settled and built up rival institutions of agriculture, commerce and art. When New Eng- land owned the commerce of the country, and the manufactures were held in the hollow of her hands, and the West and South borrowed almost all their commercial and mechanical aid from her resources, she could control by her superior genius not only her own but the destiny of nearly the whole coun- trj'. Not so, now ; and as her natural resources are so inferior to the West, she must foster what she has with a more steady care than in the past. She must be less fickle and more devoted to the solid and steady elements of prosperity always within her reach. Extremes should not meet with such rapidity as in some of her products and la- bors. There has been no time since the settle- ment of the New England States, when they could not have raised their own wool, and thus have saved untold wealth now distributed in the South to sow seeds of rebellion, and spent upon the plains of India and Australia to fatten the growth of foreign, though decaying nationalities, — to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer. This is not the only evil to New England. She has not only fed other nations from her hard-earned store, but by this importing system, for, the supply of her raw material for manufactures, she has raised up a class of commercial men who are non-produc- ers, who eat up the substance of the producers. This latter system has bred another still worse, and which at the present moment is doing more to impoverish the North than any other one thing — that is the commission system of selling goods. This is purely a New England institution, so far as its introduction and nurture is concerned. At the present moment that system is absorbing more of the real profits of the laborer and mechanic at the card, the spinning-Avheel and the loom, than that made from the whole process and capital of the manufacturer. It has built up an artificial credit system, which will ultimately prove ruinous to those who practice it. A most extravagant set of young men are being raised up, who learn nothing of wool raising or manufacturing, but who hold the business in their hands as a matter of trade, and who keep the manufacturer down to a sense of miserable expec- tancy and nervous irritability all the time. All this grows out of the non-production of our raw ma- terial, and an overstrained and artificial method of selling the goods manufactured, simply because we do not produce our raw material, which is pui-e- ly within our own hands, and then trust it to the hands of merchandise brokers to sell instead of doing it ourselves, as the English and other na- tions do. Thus by extremes we lose our sub- stance, and encourage an artificial state of exist- ence, which, above all other nations in the world, we can least afford to do. We neglect wool, flax, hemp, corn, wheat and maple sugar, all of which would prove profitable to the farmer as well as every other branch of New England industry and finance, and spend our time and strength on ex- periments of an hundred and fifty varieties of pears, and disquisitions on the root crop and sor- ghum, with an occasional essay on manures, which brings up a conflict at once between Berkshire and Essex, — the same principle being claimed for both locations, whether the soil and climate of the I'e- spective places are harmonious or not, or at all fitted for the crops proposed. These points are particularly familiar to the writer, from an attendance, (almost a silent one,) for four years of the agricultural meetings at the State House. A few plain, practical discussions of a subject will often produce much good to the farmer, but icoe to the j'lioneer, that happens to be a little out of the fashion of the times, and ven- tures to suggest subjects that are staid and well tried, but which do not carry the enthusiasm of change upon them. It has been said that innova- tion is not always improvement, and it is pre-emi- nently true in regard to the changes in the agri- culture of New England. No crop so valuable as wool, in many senses ; none so easily raised, at least in the interior of the State, and yet how much and how long it has been neglected. Even a discussion of this subject a few years since, was received with coldness, and when the subject of the culture of flax was brought up, in 1851, and again in 1859 it was fairly scouted at. How is it now ? Why, nearly every old buck that can claim a lineage the other side of the water is marked up to a fabulous price, while flax is to be the product of every farm, yea hot-house in the country. Ex- tremes again ! Wool is wanted ; let it be raised on the common-sense principle. Blood is much, breeding more, care is more still, and of this we can bestow in plenty. The pastoral ! Is there anything more beautiful to contemplate in agri- culture than this ? "While shepherds watch their flocks by night I" How beautiful ! All sacred history reveres the interest and beauty of the shepherd's life, and proves in this, as well as the thousand other sacred principles, that simplicity and naturalness is the true foster father of happiness as well as prosper- ity. Take care of the sheep ! They will feed and clothe you. The pastoral care of modern day is beautifully set forth in Spanish literature, from which we learn more of the true theory of sheep- raising than from any other nation, while the qual- ity of wool has ever been of the first order. The king of Spain, as early as the middle of the four- teenth century, placed himself at the head of sheep-raising. A tribunal called the ''Mesta," for the regulation of sheep-growing was formed by the chief owners of migratory flocks, the king being the merino mayor. This class of wool, once so celebrated, is obtained from the migratory sheep of Spain. It has been said that the number of these sheep in Spain amounts to ten millions, which twice a year are led a journey of four hun- dred miles ; the right was claimed for them of grazing all the open and common lanes laying in the way, as also a path ninety yards in width through all the enclosed and cultivated country, and other travellers were prohibited passing when I 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 151 the sheep were in motion. Ten thousand sheep constituted a flock, over which there were placed one principal and fifty subordinate shepherds and as many dogs. The principal ])asses ahead, and directs the speed and length of the journey, the others following and flanking the flock, collecting the stragglers, &c. Some of the sheep are per- fectly trained to obey the signals of the shepherds, (says Tomlinson,) which follow the leading shep- herd— for there is no driving — and the rest quiet- ly follow them. "The flocks travel through the cultivated country at the rate of eighteen or twen- ty miles a day, but in open country, with good pasture more leisurely. The sheep know as well as the shepherds, when the procession has arrived at the end of the journey." "In April their migra- tory instinct renders them restless, and if not guided they set forth unattended to the cooler hills." "It is during this journey that the sheep are shorn." They are placed in large pens, where they are confined until they perspire freely, which has a tendency to soften the "yolk," and thus the fleece becomes softer and is the more easily cut. At the end of the journey, when the sheep arrive at their summer jiasture, they are salted, and with increased appetites move about in search of grass, upon which they fatten. "They are never fed un- til the dew is dry, nor allowed to drink after liail storms." "In September, the flocks are daubed with a red earth, which is said to conduce to the fineness of the wool." They return from their pasture in October, "when their yeaning time ap- proaches." "Forty or fifty thousand shepherds are said to be employed in tending these sheep. They are a singular race of men, almost as simple as their sheep." It may be asked by the theoretician and critic, whether sheep emigration is necessary or applica- ble to New England. The answer is apparent. We have not the uncultivated plains, neither the terraced mountains to feed upon ; therefore, large flocks and nimierous shepherds are not needed. But we have hills, and meadows, and boys in abundance, and a flock of sheep should be under the care of some one, be he man or boy, who can discriminate between the proper times and condi- tions of feed in the meadow or hillside, and when to emigrate from the one to the other, and how to train the sheep. It is by analogy that we learn ; therefore, the history of the past, in sheep as well as in man, may be of service to us, if we use our reason and draw conclusions therefrom which are applicable to our condition instead of the condition of the ancients. A careful and persevering policy in the growth of sheep, and a cultivated observation with regard to its influence upon the character of the wool, would, in a few years, bring the New Eng- land former up to the highest standard of sheep and wool growing, while a changeful and vacillat- ing policy, produced by listening to theoretic dis- sertations and discussions on five thousand dollar bucks, would soon place him back again beyond the practical knowledge and experience of our forefathers. s. M. A. For the Kew England Parmer. MAPLE SUQAB. Mr. Editor : — Maple sap, as it runs from the trees, is clean, and it ought to be the aim of the manufacturer to keep it so through the whole pro- cess of boiling, &:c. The buckets ought to be perfectly clean. I use tin buckets, as they are easily kept clean, and also conveniently distribut- ed through the lot. The great source of impurity in the sap is bark and moss that fall from the trees, and leaves that are blown about during high winds and lodge in the buckets, and which, if not removed before boiling, give the sugar a very red color ; therefore, the sap ought to be strained be- fore boiling, and skimmed during evaporation. I prefer pans to kettles, the bottoms only being ex- posed to the fire, there being no chance for rising, and burning, and coloring the syrup. Boil down quite thick, and set the pan from the arch on blocks for the purpose, and dip off and strain through a thick strainer, and then set away to cool and settle. When ready to sugar ofi", pour off" carefully, as there will be a small quantity of sediment at the bottom, which should not be poured in with the syrup, but kept by itself, a quantity of sap put with it, ?nd again settled and poured off", thus saving, ultimately, the whole. Do not add any foreign substance to syrup for the needless process of cleaning, but as it begins to boil, carefully skim, and my word for it, if you do not burn, you will have a nice article. Sooner give your skim milk to the pigs, take your eggs for your own eating, and your saleratus throw away, than to adulterate your syrup with them. ' Gauunkk Herkick. Souih Reading, VL, March 19, 1863. I^" The amount of lumber annually cut on the Kennebec and Penobscot waters has been about 200,000,000 feet. Last season it was only GO.OOO.- OCD feet. The present season there will be cut about 100,000,000 feet. For tlie yew England Parmer. LITTLE THINGS, Or, a Walk in my Garden. After cutting some scions the other day, as I returned to the kitchen to look after the wants of the family, I heard the complaint that the wood did not burn well. This led me to enter a com- plaint against COOKING STOVES. When wood is abundant in the winter, the farm- er wants a stove with a much larger fire box than any now in use. The village or city mechanic, who pays six or eight dollars a cord for wood, will use the strictc*t economy in the consumption of his fuel ; but when it can be obtained by the farm- er only for the expense of hauling, he can afl'ord to give his family the comfort of a generous Are for all cooking purposes. The stove maker, then, who will iiik-oduce such a stove into the market will be sure to sell it in the country. Large air- tight stoves are much more economical in every respect than small ones. One of the best little things a farmer can do, is to split up two or three cords of wood for sum- mer use as fine as the finest kindling wood. Many a farmer's wife is compelled to do her work in hot weather over a heavy fire of coarse wood. She wants a fire that will blaze well to her teakettle, but which will not throw out much heat into the room. Some of the best summer wood I ever had was prepared in this way from second growth hem- locks with the bark left'on ; bifit as this is nut al- ways attainable, any kind of wood is vastly im- 152 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. Mat proved by being split very fine for summer use. Not one- half the quantity of wood will be burned when prepared in this mannei*. Read this to your M'ife, and see if she does not heartily approve of it. But while I am writing this I am annoyed by an ECHOING FLOOR. As houses are now built, floors are apt to be very noisy annoyances. The timbers are so strained up that the floors become resonant like a drum. This often makes a schoolroom in a second story so troublesome to the rooms below as to be almost unsupportable. Now this can be easily remedied at a very trifling expense. After laying the under floor, nail down some sawed laths directly over and along the sleepers. These will show where to nail the upper floor. Now make a mortar of lime and sand, in which the latter ingredient may be in excess. It may be made thin. Pour it on to the floor and spread it just as thick as the laths, and let it dry before laying the second floor. Nail down the upper floor through the laths, and it will seem to you like walking on a brick pave- ment. Were I to build another house, I should serve all my chamber floors in this manner, unless somebody can point out a better method. Bethd, Me., March, 1863. N. T. T. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. A FINE HOG. I sold Mr. A. C. How, of this town, a half-blood Chester county pig, which weighed when dressed at nine months and fifteen days old, 525 lbs. ! I did not think much of that, but wlien I read what great things Maine and Vermont could do, I tliought I would not have Massachusetts stay Tjchind when she has done so much better. I have been a constant reader of the Farmer for over three years, and would not part with it for twice what it cost. j. p. h. Gill, March, 1863. BARN-ITCH — RELATIVE VALUE OF CORN AND BARLEY — DRY MEAL FOR HORSES. Can you or any of your correspondents inform me of the cause or a cure of the barn itch on neat stock ? I would also like to inquire as to the relative value of corn and barley as food for cattle, horses or swine. I would say that I have practiced feeding dry meal to horses with great success. k. N. E. Village, March 16, 1863. Remarks. — Cole, in his "Diseases of Animals," says, "Give the animal as much salt and soot as it will eat, and in a few hours give from three-quarters to one pound of sulphur or pulverized brimstone. In twen- ty-four hours give a pound of salt." We should con- sider these as monstrous doses, — and should advise care in employing such agents. ONIONS AND BEEF. Your friend, "Mount Grace," who doubts the "onion story," can easily satisfy himself of the truth of the theory by a simple experiment. Let him buy a small quantity (1 or 2 pounds) of clean, white rice, which has been damaged sufficiently to exhibit, when cooked, an oily, half-rancid flavor, and feed it a few times to a chicken or fowl — then have the fowl kil^d and nicely roasted, having a little of the rice cooked at the same time. He will find the same iieculiar fla- vor about equally strong in each. Ex. PATENT OFFICE REPORT. Can you inform me through the columns of the Farmer how I can obtain a copy of the Patent Office Report for 1862 f W * * D. Remarks. — Send to the Commissioner of Agricul- ture, Hon. Isaac Newton, or apply to the member of Congress from your district. I LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- ING. The tenth legislative agricultural meeting was held in the Representative Hall, on Monday even- ing, March 23d. We copy from the Adveiiiser's report : Gov. Andrew presided and opened the discus- sion, on the subject assigned for the evening, — "Agricultural Education," — by calling attention to President Hitchcock's report on Agricultural Education in Europe, made thirteen years ago. Little was done further than to receive this re- port, He alluded to his appointment of a com- mission to locate an agricultural college, and to Mr. Dussey's will contemplating the founding of an agricultural college. It is easier to oppose than to act. Accordingly nothing available has yet been gained. Much has been done, however, by country societies, farmers' clubs and the Board of Agriculture to diff"use useful knowledge on the subject. The truth is this : nothing is done un- less the aim be high. A low aim will accomplish little. Had the aim been higher and the flight bolder, more could have been accomplished. Mas- sachusetts should not accept a low standard. It may do good to teach chemistry, physiology, zo- ology and astronomy to boys in school, but this does little good unless more be done. A man of general intelligence often takes in larger views than professors of colleges and schools, though the former had much less culture than the latter. The unwillingness to learn and the prejudice against doing so, cause many to stand still. All the sciences should be cultivated, a»- D:ost of them are tributary to agriculture. Then there will be a growing science of chemistry, physiology, &c., because there are growing men engaged in them. We should begin to act in this matter. There is no occasion to delay longer. The educational in- stitutions of the State should be popularized so that all the children of the Commonwealth shall be benefited by them. Enlarged and liberal views should be difl'used among all the people of the Commonwealth. To our fame and our position we owe much. I have been pained, said the speaker, within the past three years, with the idea of our vassalage to the nations of Europe. AVe ought to be independent. We can bring men from other States and ■ climes if we will it, and need them. We stand incomparably better than the nations of Europe for discovery, for progress and improvement. A young man should not make himself a lawyer by trade or a doctor by trade. A man can be put to a better use than making writs, drawing mortgages and collecting debts. Scientific agriculture has got to find its teachers to recover an exhausted soil that has Veen over-cropped by bad husbandry. When peace is restored, this wonderful work must be done by you of New England. Then Avill the desert blossom as the rose and the garden bloom as Eden. I desire, said the Governor in closing, to see our New England people take the subject of education into their own hand and liberalize it. Mr. Flint said the subject is one of great in- terest to our population. In looking forward to an agricultural college, we should not expect of it to diff'use what is known and in books, but for something original. Wherever this institution is located it should be controlled by men of skill 1863. NEW ENGLAKD FARMER. 153 and ability to make original investigations. How this can best be done remains to be seen. Penn- sylvania has got ahead of us. Let us learn from their experience and that of European institutions. Mr. Tower, of Lanesboro', said the people must first feel their want of knowledge before they will seek it. The young men of the State are beginning to feel the want of knowledge. He spoke of the magnitude of the agricultural interest of the Commonwealth. We have 30,000 farms, which give employment to about 400,000 persons ; and about the same number are engaged in manufacturing. Our mechanics stand high ; and by their skill and invention most of our labor is performed by the muscles of animals. Shall the college be independent or connected with some of the institutions in the Commonwealth ? Mr. White, Secretary of the Board of Educa- tion, being called on to speak, urged the impor- tance of beginning right. He rejoiced in the hope of the prospect for a professional education in regard to agriculture and the mechanic arts. Let us accept the grant. We don't know yet that we shall get anything. Mr. Merria.m, of Tewksbury, thanked the Governor for his speech and believed there is a de- fect in our educational system. A man can learn to be a minister, a doctor or a lawyer, but where can he learn to be a farmer ? He spoke of the Bussy grant which should be used to endow a professorship of agriculture in Harvard College. The college should be located on a large farm of 300 or 400 acres. FARMERS' "WIVES OVERTAXED—No. 2. Brutalities are thoughtlessly sometimes, and sometimes recklessly perpetrated by farmers on their wives as follows : A child or other member of the family is taken sick in the night ; the ne- cessary attention almost invariably falls on the wife, to be extended to a greater part, if not the whole night. Wearied with the previous day's duties, with those solicitudes which always attend sick- ness, with the responsibilities of the occasion and a loss of requisite rest, the wife is many times ex- pected to "see to breakfast" in the morning, as if nothing had happened. The husband goes to his work, soon becomes absorbed in it, and forgets all about the previous night's disturbance ; meets his wife at the dinner-table ; notices not the worn-out expression on her face ; makes no inquiry as to her feelings ; and if anything on or about the table is not just exactly as it ought to be, it is no- ticed with a harshness which would be scarcely excusable if it had been brought about with a de- liberate calculation. The same thing occurs multitudes of times dur- ing the nursing periods of mothers. How many nights a mother's rest is broken half a dozen times by a restless, crying, or ailing infant, every mother and observant man knows. In such cases the farmer goes into another room and sleeps soundly until the morning ; and yet, in loo many cases, although this may be, and is repeated several nights in succession, the husband does not hesi- tate to wake his wife up with the information that it is nearly sunrise ; the meaning of which is that he expects her to get up and attend to her duties. No wonder that in many of our lunatic asylums there are more farmer's wives than any other class ; for there is no fact in medical science more positively ascertained, than that insufficient sleep is the most speedy and certain road to the mud- house. Let no farmer, tljf n, let no mechanic, let no man, who has any human sympathy still left, allow his wife to be waked up in the morning ex- cept from very urgent causes ; and further, let them give every member of the household to un- derstand that quietude about the premises is to be secured always until the wife leaves her cliam- ber; thus having all the sleep which nature will take, the subsequent energv, cheerfulness and ac- tivity which will follow, will more than compen- sate for the time required to "get her sleep out ;" not only as to her own efficiency, but as to that of every other member of the household ; for let it be remembered that a merry industry is conta- gious. There are not a few farmers whose imperious wills will not brook the very slightest dereliction of duty on the part of any hand in their employ, and whose force of character is such that every thing on the farm, outside the house, goes on like clockwork. They look to their wives to have sim- ilar management indoors ; and are so swift, to no- tice even slight shortcomings, that at length their appearance at the family table has become insep- arable from scenes of jarring, fault-finding, sneer- ing, depreciating comparisons, if not of coarse vi- tuperation, of which a savage might well be ashamed ; and all this, simply from the failure to remember that they have done nothing to make the wife's authority in her domain as imperative as their own. They make no account of the pos- sible accidents of green wood to cook with ; of an adverse wind which destroys the draft of the chim- ney ; of the breaking down of the butcher's cart ; or the failure of the baker to come in time ; they never inquire if the grocer has not sent an inferi- or article, or an accident has befallen the stove or some cooking utensil. It is in such ways as these, and millions more like them, that the farmer's wife has her whole existence poisoned by those daily tortures which come from her husband's thought- lessness, his inconsideration, his hard nature, or his downright stupidity. A wife naturally crave])er hermetically sealed up. Cuttings kept in this way for a month In all our States, out of New England, this crop, as in Great Britain, is the money crop. In the Western States, a farmer who has a crop of wheat in the ground, gets what he wants for his family at the nearest store on the credit of the wheat, and when ready for market it is hauled to the store and received in payment, and the balance, if any, cred- ited to the farmer, passing thus as the medium of payment in the dealings of the farmer at the store : or, otherwise, is carried to the nearest mill, and sold for cash. It is always a cash article where nothing else is, and always easily transferable as cash, or as the best and readiest medium in exchanges. In the middle States, in Pennsylvania, New York, Mary- land ; in Virginia and Ohio, it is on about the same footing in commerce, and is, in like manner, relied upon as the thing needful to the farmer to pay for those articles of necessary use which he does not raise and is oliliged to buy. It may un- doubtedly be made as important in tlic produce of a Massachusetts farm. It should be remembered by everj- farmer, that have grown most freely, and instances have oc- curred whei-e they have sent out roots during a I it is not so much the amount of what he produces journey from Edinburg to Vienna, and Ijeiiig im- J that enables him to succeed in his business, as what he is able to retain and use for his own jileas- ure. His first effort, therefore, it seems to us. mediately potted on their ai'rival have grown free- A Good Remedy for a Fei.on is made of should be to produce, himself, everything re- common soft soap and air-slacked lime, stirred till ' quired for use in his own family : — that is, every- it is of the consistency of glazier's putty. Make a ^^- adapted to the climate and his peculiar loc'a- leather thimble, fill it with this composition, and insert the finsjer therein ; and, our informant says. tion and soil. This saves transportation, loss in a cure is certain. This is a domestic application exchanges, and loss of Ume in marketing. It that every housekeeper can apply promptly. I would require a considerable amount of all these, 156 NEW EI^GLaKD FAiniER. yixt to raise corn or potatoes enough to exchange for the flour, for a year, required by a family of eight or ten persons. Would it not be better for New- England farmers, as a general thing, to devote an acre to wheat, save all the cost incident upon ex- changing, and eat the product of their own fields ? We think it would. A farmer needs a good deal of skill to trade advantageously with those whose w-its are sharpened by making trade the business of life, and who are too often unscrupulous in their transactions. The more directly the farmer's pro- ducts come from his fields to his table, the more profit he will find in them. NEW BOOKS Agriculture op Massachusetts. For the year 1862. By Charles L. Fliut, Secretary of the State Boanl of Agriculture. Boston: Wright & Potter, printers. 1 vol., 8 vo., 692 pp. We have before us the Tent?i Annual Report of the Secretary of the MassaclmseUs Board of Agri- culture, Reports of Committees, and some account of a Trip to Europe by the Secretary, during the last summer. The first paper of the volume relates to the breaking out, anew, of the pleuro-pneumonia, in Norfolk county. The next relates to the premium offered by various county societies for the best conducted experiments on the application of ma- nures. Then follows a report on Fruit Culture, with a Catalogue of Fruits, adapted to the Com- monwealth of Massachusetts, and icith special ref- erence to Nomenclature, and one on The Cultivation of the Orape in Massachusetts, embracing the top- ics of Soil, Aspect, Manures, Preparation of the Soil, Planting, Distance apart, Pnining, Propaga- tion, Raising New Varieties from Seed, Hybridiz- ing, and Profits of Grape Culture. In a repoi-t on the Sheep Law, we learn that 3,124 dogs have been licensed, and an estimate that 1,126 still run nnlicensed. A paper upon the Insects of 3fassachisetts which are bet^efcial to Agriculture, by Mr. Francis G. Sanborn, Curator of Entomology, is a valuable one. It is written in the most popular manner in which the subject can be treated, is numerously and handsomely illustrated, and contains much in- formation long desired by the agricultural com- munity. The next paper is Mr. Flint's brief report of his Tri]) to Europe, which is all too short, crowd- ed as it is, with the interesting things which he saw or heard in his travels. We cannot, now) specify, but shall find room hereafter for some portions of his interesting narrative. The reports of delegates who visited the vari- ous County Societies, extracts from addresses de- livered at the annual meeting, with reports of sev- eral committees on farms, &c., make up the rest of the volume. The volume is a valuable one. Its subjects are practically treated, and are gener- ally entitled to serve as a guide in the operations of our farmers. It is too valuable to be thrown together in the unworkmanlike manner in which it is presented. It is well printed, on good paper, and is in good binding — but the "making tip," as it is technically termed, of its pages, does not show a particle of the skill of the craft. For in- stance : — The article on the sheep and dog law page 109, occupies about eight pages, ending with a table of "rule and figure" work, when the next paragraph, without any indication that the subject has been changed, introduces an important report from a select committee. Again, on page 12-3, Mr. Sanborn's report on Insects — a paper of 60 pages — is introduced in two lines, at the bottom of thep'age, and without any indication whatever that the paragraph did not belong to the previous sub- ject. On page 186, Mr. Flint's report of his trip to Europe, is dignified by opening a page, because the preceding page was full into a single line. The State will feel the loss of that line ! This re- port deserves a more formal introduction. It cer- tainly should have had a "half-title," if nothing more. These examples are sufficient. The contents of the work are crowded in continued succession, one subject rushing into another, without anything to indicate that the stoiy upon which one begins,, is ended. When so much talent and labor have been expended, the State can certainly afford to have it arranged in a skilful and int elligible manner. Fiir the Aew England Farmer. BREAD MAKIWa. From an Essay read before the Concord Farmers' Club, by J, Reynolds, M. D. The grains which we use for bread consist chiefly of starch, sugar and gluten. The object of form- ing them into bread is to effect such a change in them as will render them more palatable and more easily digested. The grain is first pulverized and then sifted, to separate the different qualities of the meal. The external, or woody portion of the grain is the bran. The inner portion is the flour. The gluten is tough, and the most difficult to grind. The finer and Mhiter portion obtain-^d bj- repeated siftings, consists of a large proportion of starch. The darker colored part is richer in glu- ten, and as the nutritive properties are in projjor- tion to the gluten, that portion makes the most nutritious bread. When flour is mixed with water, kneaded ini.o dough and baked, it will he tough and clammy. If spread and cut into a thin sheet, it will be hard and horny. In neither case will it be palatable or easily digestt'J. To avoid these results, and to form a light, spongy dough, different methods are adopted. If a paste of flour and water be permit- ted to stand some days in a Avarm place, it com- mences to ]nitrefy and grows sour. If a . small portion of this sour paste be incorporated into fresh dough, the decomposing gluten acts upon the su- sar of the flour and excites what is called the 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 157 vinous fermentation, changing the sugar into al- cohol and carbonic acid. The carbonic acid is set free in the form of minute bubbles of gas through- out the wliole substance of the dough, and be- ing retained by tlie adhesive gluten, it causes the whole mass to swell or rise. These bubbles form the pores or small cavities, which in well made bread are small and uniform, — but if the dough is too watery, or not well kneaded, or, if the Hour is too fine, there are sometimes large, irregular cav- ities or holes in tlie bread. If the process of fer- mentation is carried too far, the vinous fermenta- tion passes into the acetous, and the alcohol is changed into vinegar, and the dough becomes sour. This may be corrected by the addition of soda or magnesia, which gives no disagreeable taste, and acts as a gentle laxative, and is wholly unob- jectionable, iiy fermentation, the bread is made light at the esjjense of the sugar in the tlour, which, as I have said, is changed into alcohol and carbon- ic acid, both of which are driven oft' by the process of bakiiig. Any method by which a gas is set free through- out the mass answers the purpose. If carbonate of soda is mixed with the flour, and muriatic acid largely diluted be added, the acid and soda unite, forming common salt. And the carbonic acid, previously combined with the soda, is set free rap- idly, forming a very light sponge. This must be kneaded immediately, and forms a very palatable bread, containing nothing injurious. Ammonia, in the form of a carbonate, is often used in making cake. This is often driven off by the heat in bak- ing. The efl'ect of heat upon the gluten and starch in the process of baking is to cause them to form a chemical com])ound which cannot be separated by washing Mitli water, as could be done when they were in the state of flour. In conse- quence of this change, and of its light, spongy form, bread becomes more easily soluble in the stomach. The water added to the flour forms about one-third the weight of the bread. That which is not evaporated, is converted into a solid, and forms a chemical union with the bread. Wheat flour contains all the elements contained in milk and blood, though not in the same pro- portion. These proportions are easily adjusted in the stomach. Hence, wheat is better suited than any other known substance for animal nutrition. For the New England Farmer. coirs SUPERPHOSPHATE. Mr. Editor : — In a number of the Farmer, dated March 2Sth, I noticed an inquiry of J. E. Morse, Peterboro', X. II., in regard to the use and benefit of Coe's Superphosphate of Lime. Allow me to answer the inquiry briefly, for the benefit of others as well as Mr. Morse. It is a good topdressing, and profital)le if the ground is well harrowed, so that it is sufliciently loose to receive it ; and then it should be sown on a rainy day. For corn it is unequalled as a sjjecial fertil- izer. A small tablesjioonful in the hill at the time of planting will do very well — but repeated at sec- ond hoeing, it w ill add to the crop twice its cost and mature it ten days earlier, saving the risk of frost, which will pay for the cost. The grain is also heavier and brighter. Three hundred pounds per acre, for corn, or topdressing, is sufficient ; for jieas or beans, seven hundred and fifty pounds will answer; for potatoes, I would recommend four hundred pounds, if there is no other manure. When worked into the soil the effect is quite last- ing ; as a topdressing it is sooner spent But in these days of cropping I think few persons in New England can ali'ord to do without it. West Meridai, Coniu, 1863. R. Linsley. For the A>ir Kn^lantl Farmer. METEOKOLOQICAIi RECORD FOR FEB- RUARY, 1863. These observations are taken for, and under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution. The average temperature of Fel)ruary was 22'* ; average mid-day temperature, 29. The corres- ponding figures for Feb., 1KG2, were 19" and 27*^; for Feb., 18(51, 26*^ and 33". The warmest days were the 1.5th, 20th and 27th, averaging 39*^ ; cold- est day the 4th, averaging 17" below zero. High- est temperature, 46" ; lowest temperature, 23" be- low zero. Average height of mercurv in Uie barometer, 29.41 inches; do. for Feb., 1SG2, 29.2j inches; do. for Feb., ISGl, 29,21 inches. Highest daily average, 30.()4 inches, on the 5th ; lowest do., 2S.63 inches, on the 20th. Range of mercury from 28. 52 inches to 30.12 inches. Rain fell on four days — snow on nine days. Amount of rain and melted snow, 3.12 inches ; do. of snow, 14.50 inches; corresponding figures for Feb., 1802, 3.10 inches and 31 inches; for Feb., 1861, 2.98 inches and 15.50 inches. There were two entirely clear days ; one day was entirely overcast. It will be noticed tliat the greatest elevation of the barome- ter was about coincident with the lowest tempera- ture, and the lowest barometer with the highest temjierature. Average temperature of the winter of 1862-3, 25" ; of 18G1-2, 22" ; of 18G0-L 22°. Total am't of snow during the winter of 1.SG2-3, 52.25 inches ; of rain and melted snow, 8.37 indies ; do. for win- ter of 18G1-2, 77 inches and 8.25 inches ; do. for winter of 1860-1, 93.25 inches and 10.53 inches. Cluremont, N. II., March, 1863. a. c. Health — Our Fed. — Women are not more hardy than men. They walk on the same damp, cold earth. Their shoes must be as thick and warm. Calf or kip skin is best for the cold sea- son. The sole should \ye half an inch thick ; in addition there should be a quarter of an inch uf rubber. The rubber sole I iiave used for years ; I would not part with it for a thousand dollars. ! It kee])s out the damp, prevents sli|)ping, and \ wears five times as long as leather of the same cost. Fur women's boots it is invaluable. Lut ! rubber shoes should be discarded. They retain , the perspiration, make the feet tender and give I susceptibility to cold. Stand on one foot, and ! mark around the outspread toes. Have your ' soles exactly the same width. Your corns will ' leave vou. The narrow sole is the cause of most i of our corns. A careful study of the anatomy (if j the feet and the influence of a narrow sole will satisfy every inquirer. The heel should be broad and long. Wear thick, woollen stockings. Change them every day. Before retiring, dip the feet in cold water. Rub them hard. Hold the bottoms to the fire till they burn. — Dr. Lewis. 158 NEW KN-GLAND FARMER. Mat IF -WE KNEW. If we knew the cares and crosses, Crowding round our neighbor's way, If we knew the little losses. Sorely grievous day by day. Would we then so often chide For his lacs of thrift and gain — Leaving on his heart a shadow. Leaving on our lives a stain ? If we knew the clouds above us, Held by gentle blessings there, Would we turn away all trembling In our blind and weak despair? Would we shrink from little shadows Lying on the dewy grass, While 'tis only birds of Eden, Just in mercy flying past ? If we knew the silent story Quivering through the heart of psln, Would our womanhood dare doom them Back to haunts of guilt again ? Life hath many a tangled crossing, Joy hath many a break of woe, And the cheeks tear-washed are whitest 5 This the blessed angels know. Let us reach into our bosoms For the ke3' to other lives. And with love toward erring nature. Cherish good that still survives ; So that, when our disrobed spirits Soar to realms of light again, We may say "Dear Father, judge us. As we judge our fellow-men." Foreign Exchange. EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. SEEDS — CURKANTS AND RASPBERUIES — URONZE TUR- KEY— BRAHMA FOWiS. 1. I wish to inquire what kind of vegetable seeds are good only at one year old? what kind at two ? and what three years or more? (Common kinds only.) 2. Should currants and raspberries be set in partial shade ? 3. In what does the superiority of the Bronze tur- key consist r 4. Are the genuine Bramah fowls clear white, or streaked with black on neck or tail ? Ex. March, 1863. Remarks. — 1. The egg plant, various kinds of on- ions, parsnip and thick-skinned squash are safe only for one year. Beans should not be planted that have been kept more than two years, — nor carrots, celery, spinach or tomato seeds. Asparagus seed is good at three years, — so are let- tuce and peas. But broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, cucumber, mel- on, radish, squash and turnip seeds are supposed to remain good for from five to ten years — so says Mr. ScHLEGEL, at 20 South Market Street, Boston,->-one of the best informed seedsmen in our knowledge. 2. We are not aware that currants and raspberries flourish any better for being partially shaded, after they are once thoroughly established in the gi-ound. We have cultivated them successfully in the sun, and just as well when partially shaded. We must leave the other questions for some one better informed. HUNGARIAN GRASS. I have seen communications frequently in the Frtrw- er on Hungarian grass. I would like to make one suggestion in its favor in relation to its being fed to milch cows. I raised some two years ago, and in the winter triwl it in various ways — the sheep, horses and cattle all being very fond of it. It improved the quan- tity and quality of the milk at once. I sold half a ton to one of my neighbors for his cow. His experi- ence accords with mine. He said it improved the col- or and taste of the butter. I am now feeding with the same result. I wish to know where I can obtain one-half bushel of flax seed, and at what price ? some that will be adapted to the latitude of Central Vermont or New- Hampshire. "Agriculturist," in his letter No. 2, has given so minute a description of the whole process of raising, that I think I can do it ; at anv rate I can try. North Thetfotd, Vt., 1863. M" D. Baxter. Remarks. — Flax seed is high at present — probably $Z 50 or $^ 00 per bushel. It lisually sells for about half that sum. horse RAKES. Will you inform the boys of New Hampshire of the best horse rake in use, and the cost ? Also the best one or two-horse mower, and the cost ? Also the cut, or plan, if convenient. Most of our help has left to work for Uncle Sam ; so much so, we are almost oI)liged to do our labor with horses, or at least, as far as we can. e. h. Upper Gilmanton^ N. H., 1863. Remarks. — There are two horse rakes about to be- introduced, which we shall notice by-and-by. SETTING VF BIRDS. Will you through the Fanner inform, me of the best manner of preserving, stutting and curing birds ? 5 "want to know the whole modus operandi, so far as the materials used in preserving and stuliing are concerned. Of late, we have been visited with many rare kinds, uncommon in this country, and at this season. If you will ol>lige me in this matter, you will confer a favor on a friend and a reader. Chanxins E. Hazeltine. Sonth Strafford, Vt., 1863. Remarks. — We will publish a complete article on the sul)ject, soon. warts on cattle. I wis?i to inqnire through the columns of the Farm~ er if there is any cure for warts on cattle. I have a vaUja))lc cow which has a number of large warts. Will some ol" your numerous readers prescribe a rem- edy, and much oblige s. f. a. Bellows Falls, March, 1863. LEGISLATIVE AGRICULTURAL MEET- ING. The Eleventh meeting of tliis series took place at the State House on the evening of March 30. The subject for discussion was the Qdiure of Flax. Stdpiien M. Allen, Esq., President of the Na- tional Fibrilia Companiy, spoke as follows : In both England and France the change from the use of linen to cotton was attended with much difficulty. It was principally brought about by the influence of new machinery, invented for card- ing and spinning short-stapled fibres at much less cost than long-line fibres could be manufactured. Tnis difi'erence in manufacture is as marked now as it was then, and has given birth to the fibriliz- ing process, which admits of the preparation of flax or hemp for spinning on short-stapled ma- chinery usually employed for the manufacture of cotton and wool. The transition wrought in England by the in- ventions of Paul, Hargrave, Arkwright and Crompton, in the introduction of power spinning and weaving, was so great that whole neighbor- hoods became disturbed by mobs, composed of hand spinners and weavers who feared being thrown out of work. The governments of both England and France had to interfere, and laws were made to regulate the manufacture of cottoii goods, restricting them to linen warps. These 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 159 laws were in force for many years, and regulated the manufiicture of calico to a great extent. In America, the manufacture of linen was among the first of domestic jjroducts. Hand wheels and looms were introduced into almost every farm- house, and in many cases a surplus of linen was manufactured, beyond private domestic use, and was sent to market and sold. In some cases, as at Londonderry, large amounts of goods were an- nually made for market by the Scotch Irish, who settled there, and a trade mark was given them for the protection of their linen from counterfeits from other but inferior producers. The value of linen has not been diminished, but rather has increased since cotton came into gen- eral use, but its manufacture is mostly confined to Europe. The great scarcity of cotton at the pres- ent time has made it a subject of more general in- terest than for many years in the past. Flax cotton has been a subject of investigation and research for more than a century, l)ut the ex- periments have, generally, almost entirely failed. The fibrilizing process of flax and hemp how- ever is a perfect success, and at the present time an article of fibrilia is made which answers a good purpose for both cotton and wool, and can be spun and woven on the ordinary machinery for those staples with but little necessary alteration. In the production of this article the whole pro- cess of the manufacture of flax and hemp has been changed. The gathering of the raw flax, the extraction of the woody matter of the stalk, as well as the dissolving of the gummy matter holding the fibrils together, and the preparation for spinning and weaving, or coloring and bleach- ing, has no analogy with the manufacturing pro- cess of long line flax for linen. The whole pro- cess is accomplished for less than one-third the cost per pound of long line fibre, while for cali- coes mixed half and half with cotton, it is much better than cotton. The whole process of manufacture is very sim- f)le. The flax or hemp straw is mown or cradled ike grain, and is cured like hay, after which the seed is threshed out in the ortlinary way. It is then passed through the brake, which takes out fourteen hundred pounds of shives out of every two thousand pounds of straw, (the sliives, if un- rotted, being good for cattle,) and the fibre is then steeped in the retort with warm water at dif- ferent temperatures, which dissolves the glumien in the fibre, after wJiich it is rinsed or washed be- fore coming up to the boiling point. It is then dried and run through the stranding and cleaning ma- chine, followed by carding, spinning, S:c., on short stapled machinery. If it needs bleaching or col- oring, it may be done in the retort at first, before removing — the difl'erent liquors being passed through the receiver to bleach or color, as the case may be. The cost cf fibrilia thus made, provided the manufocturer buys and brakes his flax under his own supervision, and at the present cost of straw in the West, is about from ten to twelve and one-half-cents per pound. In ordinary times it can be manufactured so as to mix half and half with cotton for calicoes for eight cents per pound. All that is now needed is a multiplicity of the same machinery we are now making to su})ply the world with a substitute for cotton and wool in great abundance. The success of fibrilizing flax and hemp as sub- stitutes for cotton and wool has been placed be- yond a doubt. The time necessary to bring out fiibrilia in such quantities as to supply the world with that product must l)e determined l)y the co- operation of the peoi)le in building mills and fur- nishing capital, the same as in any other branch of business. Messrs. Wilkinson &: Wheeler, of Roxbury have adopted the fibrilia principle in making crash, and are succeeding beyond exjjectation. The mills now running under our svstem, though comparatively small, are making satisfac- tory goods, and the profits are quite large enough to satisfy the most fastidious money-maker. The tendency now, however, is so speculative, both by the farmer who raises the flax, and the capital- ist that we have had to use a restraining rather than an encouraging influence to keep each in proper check, lest both should be carried on too fast and too far, simply because though thev were willing to give their lands and money to tlie enter- prise, they were not studying the subject properly as they advanced. If the friends of the fibrilia enterprise have erred in the minds of capi'alists in one way more than any other, it has been in keeping the subject free h-om speculative influences, which, though promising largely at first, might not be so well for the proprietors in the long run. The twelfth meeting of the series took place Monday, April 6. Mr. Brown, editor of the X. E. Farnvr, was elected chairman. He said he was gratified to address the society in a somewhat unusual, but pleasant form, as ^'ladicji and gentle- men"— there being several ladies present. He spoke at some length upon the ?///productive con- dition of wet and heavy lands, of the great labor to cultivate them, and their liability to diougld, and the consequent decay of plants growing upon them. He urged the necessity of thorougli drain- age as one of the leading improvements of the ace in farm pursuits. This he attempted to show by 1. The ditach^antarjfis of cultivating wet lands. 2. The j^reveniion of drought. 3. The meclianical and f'eiidiziniy eff'ects of a shower upon thoroughly drained land, in contrast with its efi'ects on undrained land. 4. The variation of the season in consequence of drainage. 5. The l&ss coat of cultivation on land made po- rous, warm and friable, by drainage, and the great increase of crop, with the same amount of ma- nure, and at a greatly reduced amount of lalior. Mr. Bkown briefly illustrated these ])<)iii;s by results gained in his own experience in draining wet u])lands. He then called u])on others to state their views upon this important subject. Mr. WakKKN, of Auburn, said he had drained lands for several years. Wet lands bordering on swales should be dr.ained. He drained such lands, and ii improved them so much that six iiills of potatoes made a bushel. His first crop more than paid for the labor of drainage. He drained to the depth of from two to three feet, filkd the drains with stone, and covered them with straw and turf, and had since gathered annually a good crop of hay. He found it was a good piece of land. 160 - NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May Mr. Smith, of Granby, gave his experience in draining swale, and found it profitable. Mr. Howard, of Boston, endorsed the prac- tice of land drainage, especially of clay lands. It costs about fifty cents a rod to dig drains here. In Western New York, it can be donf for thirty cents. Mr. Wetherell, of Boston, spoke strongly in favor of drainage. He maintained that drains in clay soil should not be laid less than four feet deep. In speaking of soils, he said that sand, when thoroughly dried, 100 pounds of it would hold or absorb 25 pounds of water; loam, 100 pounds in the same condition would absorb 40 pounds of water ; and pure clay, 100 pounds would absorb 70 jwunds of water. This, he said, showed the different character of soils. He urged this improvement as tho one that must be accept- ed by farmers. No farmer tliat has ■wet lands can afford to till them undrained. Mr. Flower, of Agawam, said that for the first time we are all agreed that drainage is important, however, we may have difi'ered on other subjects. He mentioned practical results in his vicinity. Mr. Drew advocated drainage, giving both ex- perience and observation in its favor. Mr. Tower, of Lanesboro', spoke of the bene- ficial results of drainage, and highly commended it. A gentleman from Sprhigfield gave an instance in the Connectiut Valley where drainage destroyed mosquitoes, — a new reason added to the important ones-alieady known. For the New England Farmer. EXPEBIMEKTTS IKT FEEDING PIGS. Mr. Editor : — Your correspondent of Ken- sington, N. H., undertakes to prove in the last Farmer, that the pig which I spoke of in a late number, weighing 400 pounds at nine months old, and fattened on mush, ate 28 bushels of meal, ac- cording to Mr. Ellsworth's experiments ; which, at 70 cents per bushel, is equal to $19,60. Now, my figures are diff'erent from Mr. Ellsworth's, in respect to the amount of meal it takes to make a pound of pork. The pig which I refer to was shut up in a small pen, while INIr. Ellsworth's, per- haps, were allowed to run about in a field. I wish to show my friend, Mr. Brown, of Kensington, some figures that he can depend on, and if he has fattened a pig any cheaper by feeding it raw corn, I, for one, would' like to know it. Figures will not lie. The pig to which I refer ate no other food to any amount, but cooked meal, with occasionally a little sour milk. The amount of meal that it consumed was 747 pounds, or 13^ bushels, which, at 70 cents per bushel, is equal to $9,33. We see by this, that less than two pounds of meal cooked made one pound of pork. Old corn was used, which is far better than new. One bushel of it fed to swine, in July or August, is worth nearly as much as two of new corn, fed in November. In tryiug experiments, there are a good many things to be thought of aud taken into account. There is a great diff'erence in breeds of hogs ; some require only a small amount of food to fat- ten them, while others require a large amount. A hog of the right breed and disposition will eat its food and lie down satisfied, while a laud-pike sort of a hog will eat all it can get, and squeal the rest of the time. The same amount of meal that would fatten one hog of a good breed, would go but little way towards fattening another hog of a poor breed. I think farmers are not particular enough in their choice of breeds. If they go to purchase a horse, they are very particular to get a IMorgan or Black Hawk ; but in purchasing pigs, they generally purchase those that they can buy the cheapest. Mr. B. thinks that mush may satisfy at first, but that it needs something that will stick by the ribs to finish off with. I have seen pigs fattened so fat on mush, that they could scarcely stand on their feet, and that is as fat as I want hog?. I still con- tend that it is the most economical way to fatten pigs on cooked meal. But, says one, you do not get pay for your extra labor ; let us see about that : When raw corn is fed to hogs they do not grind more than two-thirds of it, so one-third of it is lost. Will that one-third saved by grinding and cooking, ])ay for the extra labor, or not ? I think it will, and when we take into account the extra labor of cultivating that third, we cannot come to any other conclusion, if we are willing lo admit the truth, but that it is the most economical and correct way, in New England, and in every State where corn is worth from 70 to 90 cents per bush- el, to grind and cook it for swine. In some parts of the western States, where they use corn for fu- el, because it is cheaper than coal or wood, it will not ])ay to cook it. Mr. B. refers us to the Post-Office Reports of 1851, where a few W'esterr men give it as their opinion, that it v/ill not pay for them to even shell their corn to feed. I suppose ]Mr. B. is aware, as well as myself, that, at the time they wrote, corn was worth in the Western States from 12 to 20 cents per bushel, shelled ; and pork from $2 to $3 per hundred pounds. Coi-n has been so abundant tliere, some years, that it v.-ould scarcely pay to harvest it, and send it to market. Under those circumstances, where corn is scarcely worth har- vesting, I do not contend that it would pay to cook it to feed any kind of stock. Here, in New Eugland, it costs some labor to raise a bushel of corn ; therefore we should use economy, and feed it in the w'ay that it will do the most good. O. P. Mead. Middlebury, VL, Feb., 1863. Best Time to Feed Graix to Sheep. — Noon is preferred to morning for this purpose by a cor- respondent of the Countrij Genilcinan; for three reasons : First, because, at noon, their appetites are partly satisfied, and therefore the stronger ones will crowd the weaker ones less than they would do in the morning ; second, because sheep will eat the coarser fodder better before eating grain than afterwards ; and, third, because, by eat- ing at noon, the grain will be better mingled with the coarser fodder already swallowed, and be more likely to rise with their cuds for thorough masti- cation, by which the greatest amount of nutriment will be extracted from a given amount of food. The California flood of January, 1802, Mas the highest known in the State for centuries. This is proved by the fact that Indian mounds of great depth, bearing unmistakable evidence of great an- tiquity in the large oaks growing upon them, were almost entirely carried away, trees and all. 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 161 For the Kew England Farmer, THE PRICE OP MILK. Mr. Editor :— This is a subject which pos- sesses much interest for a large number of the readers of the Farmer. It is one of those matters upon which much has been said, but very little done, ujion the side of the producers, the matter having been left entirely to a few milkmen, who have, for tlie last few years, so well improved their o])portunity, that milk is now bought by them at prices very far below its actual cost of production. Whenever the prices of other tilings have been a little less than usual, the price of milk has been reduced also, but now, when everything which the farmer must ])urchase has gone up from 50 to 400 per cent, above former prices, tliese milkmen seem determined to keep down the price to about the old rates, if possible. I wish to ask if there is not a remedy for this state of affairs ? It seems to me that there is, if milk raisers would only bestir themselves a little. Why should not they do as other manufacturers have been doing, and call a milk raisers' convei SCHOOLEY'S PATENT ICEBEBQ REFRIGERATOR. Schooley's upright formed refrigerator, an accu- rate cut of which we present above, contains every tion, to establisit an equitable scale of prices, and j improvement covered bv all the patents issued to ini'lftl fill flirt ^f\\\'-<^cy ti*Ki.-tli r. 1.^ i.-»*-<-ii.,'..^*.i,l * .^ .-..,.^,1 I p, , , 1»T» • ' bchooley, uinship and Fairbanks, up to the year invite all the towns which are interested to send delegates ? The idea seems [)racticable, and if a few influential men would only start the thing, I think it might be easily accomplished. The j)res- ent time seems to be a favorable one, and there can be no question, I think, that, at the present retail prices, the milkmen can afford to pay a much higher price per can than they are now paying. Are all of our farmers aware of the fact, that the can of milk which they have sold for from 22 to 25 cents, is retailed iu the city for six cents per quart, wine measure, amounting to nearly or quite sixty cents per can ? X. Y. z. Middlesex Conaty, Mass., April, 1803. Remarks. — We understand that a law has just been passed in the Legislature, which declares that "Whoever buys or sells milk by any other meas- ures, cans or vessels, than those sealed as ijrocided in the loth section of the General Statutes, shall for one violation pay $20, and for a second and each subsequent violation $50. Enforce this section of the law, and another in relation to the adulter, ation of milk, and farmers will soon get a fair price for what they have to spare. Women with Rakes a\d Spades. — One of our agricultural contemporaries says : "These times are bringing out the best qualities of our Ameri- can women ; but there is one sort of out-d oor la- bor which should be partict|)ated in by women in all times, and that is gardening. Xow is the time to commence operations for the season. If the ground is wet, and you have no thick boots of your own, pull on a pair of brother's, fling on one of those butter-bowl hats, draw on a pair of leath- er gloves, and sally forth on a reconnoissance. Rake off the mulches and let the sun have a shine at the tender crowns which are just ready to break through the brown husk and show their em- erald lances. Make up your minds what to plant and where to plant it ; put in a few seeds of early cabbage and peas, in a warm nook, and make up your minds to follow out such a good beginning, every day or so through the season." 1.S63. The ice chamber in this refrigerator is ])laced at the top of one side, and not across the top, as in those formerly manufactured ; this ciiange being made to prevent any moisture from collect- ing on the bottom of the ice floor in the preserving chamber. The door to the ice chamber opens from tlie front and not from the top, as in all other styles, making it more convenient to put in or get at the ice. The following is what Professor Nathaniel Hill, Professor of Chemistry at Brown University, says of Schooley's Refrigerator : "In the month of August I experimented with Schooley's Refiigerator, also with several other kinds, in all of which I placed a dish of onions, some milk, and custard pie. The refrigerators were then closed, locked, and sealed, and not opened for twenty-four hours. Upon examination, all oftiiem lUT sciiooLEv's were highly charged with the odor of onions, and the milk and' |)ie were strongly contaminated with the taste of onions. The inside linings were dripjjing witli water, and the entire atmosphere was saturated with vapor, and the milk had become sour. In the Schooley Refrigerator the linings in the Provision Apart- ment were dry and the atmosphere pure. There was no accumulated odor of onions. In the milk and pie no taste whatever of onions could be de- tected. The milk was i)erfectly sweet." This refrigerator is sold by Curtis cV Cobb, seedsmen and florists, of this city. Teaching a Colt to Back. — A correspondent of the liural New Yorker gives the following di- rections : We should hitch him up to a cart or wagon that stood on an elevation, with a gradual slope one way, so that the cart or wagon wouM run buck it- self, and try to back liim until successful ; then try on level ground ; and then a small load. Thus by degrees you can succeed in teaching him to back nearly as much as he could draw. 162 NEW ENGLAND FARMF^Tl. May AN" AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE. The attention of the reader is called to an arti- cle on another page, upon the subject of found- ing an agricultural college in this State, under cer- tain conditions imposed by Congress. These con- ditions are in an act "donating public lands to the several States and territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic art-i.'^ The common opinion entertained is, that this grant contemplates only to benefit agricultural pursuits, — but the following extract from the act, Section 4, will show that this idea is entirely erroneous. The land granted is to be sold at the expoise of the State, the receipts to be invested in stocks yielding not less than five per centum upon their par value, and they must con- stitute a perpetual fund, the capital of which shall remain forever undiminished, "and the inierest of which shall be inviolably appropriated to the en- dowment, support and maintenance of at least one college where the leading object shall be, without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and includmg military tactics, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agri- culture and the mechanic arts." This, the reader will observe, is not in consonance with the com- mon opinion in regard to the matter. Another point to be considered is, that no por- tion of the money received from the sale of the lands can be paid for the construction of build- ings ; whatever ihet/ may cost must be furnished by the State or by individuals. Any State avail- ing itself of the benefit of the act inust provide not less than one college within Jive years, or the grant will cease, and the State is bound to pay the United States the amount received for any lands that may have been sold. This whole subject has been before the Legisla- ture. In the report of the Committee, to whom the matter was referred, they state that Massachusetts has twelve Senators and Representatives, which entitles the State to land scrip for 360,000 acres of land. The course which they recommend to be pursued we regard as the safest one, and if adopted, and energetic measures are at once insti- tuted to sell the land, will be quite likely to re- move something of the prejudice now entertained against the whole scheme. They recommend "to receive the land scrip, and dispose of it as rapidly as possible on good terras, and ascertain precisely what the fund will amount to, before any large expenditures are authorized. And even when it shall have been all collected and funded, it should be so employed as, like the school fund, to induce the liberal expenditure of money from other sources, so as by combination with that, to pro- duce the greatest possible benefit." The report goes on to say : The object is not, as many seem to imagine, solely to promote agriculture. "Agriculture," tliough men- tioned first, lias no pre-eminence in the law over "the mechanic arts." The terms "agriculture and the me- cluuiic arts," were evidently chosen to represent all forms of i)ulustry, which, by handicraft and the use of machinery, contribute to the sustenance and com- fort of man. And the primary design of thi.s dona- tion was not directly to promote even these forms of industry. It was to aid the States to sustain collcc/es or schools, in which that science should be taught' on which all the industrial arts depends, withoat exclud- ing any science because its immediate practical Ijene- tit might not be seen, and not neglecting military tac- tics. Whatever agencies may be established that will judiciously aid in instructing our people, of every class, we shall hail with real satisfaction, and shall improve every opportunity to co-operate with such agency, and contribute whatever we can to its suc- cess. We are free to confess that, upon a more carefid perusal of the act, the reading of the re- port of the Legislative committee, and that of a committee of merchants of Boston interested in * the scheme, we look upon it with favor, and wish it distinguished success. It will require, however, on the part of the State authorities, great energy, discernment and precision — to secure the objects sought without embarrassment and loss to the State. The report continues : There can but one serious impediment in the way of making a true professional agricultural school in this State prosper, and that is a'want of intere>t in it among the agricultural population. An experimental farm may be obtained, model buildings can be erect- ed, accomplished professors and lecturers can be em- ployed, all that is known about the science of this branch of industry, which, though no more essential than many other occupations, yet docs support all other industrj', can be explained and illustratated; and the young man who intends to be a farmer can be enabled to learn, in a few months, fiir more than he could obtain by a whole lifetime of laljor and thought, if dependent alone on himself. The re-our- ces of thought of all ages and countries can be poured at his feet. That any can ridicule, or oppose, or un- dervalue such an institution, is one of the strongest reasons why it should be established. They are not yet sufficiently enlightened to know their own wants. The last sentence of this quotation is signifi- cant. "They [the farmers] are not yet sufficiently enlightened to know their ovm wants. How they shall obtain this light, is the great question in issue. If the college were thoroughly estab- lished, to-day, so far as farmers are concerned, it would be of comparatively little advantage. Few qualified to enter it could be found. It would be too high up, beyond their reach. They must be- gin lower, and ascend in the natural way. That way, to our mind, is clear, available, and certain in its results. We have seen it demonstrated. It can be again and again, at little cost, and will arouse that want of interes' which, the commit- tee's report says, is the "one serious impediment in the way of making a true professional agricul- tural school prosper in this State." Let us see. The Legislature appropriates some $25,000 or $30,000, annually, to the various county societies to aid in promoting the interests isG.-; NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 163 of agriculture. Some of these societies have been established more than half a century, and others for varying periods, down to within two or three years. The leading things these socieiies did last year, they did the first year of their existence, and have done every year since. Some improvements have been introduced, and some grave errors, un- til their general operations swallow up the liberal ajipropriations of the State — and as much more from individuals — without producing beneficial re- sults at all commensurate with the money expend- ed. The same things have been done, and paid for, over and over again, until the object sought is, to gain the j^remium, rather than to benefit the public by submitting important and well authenti- cated results in the breeding of animals, or the production of field crops. In fact, the salt has lost its savor. The Avhole thing needs remodel- ing, or the State bounty should be discontinued. In this connection, we are glad to notice that one of the members of the State Board of Agri- cuUure, entertains similar views. In his report of the society to which he was a delegate last fall, he says : "The exhibitions have come to be considered too much as a mere matter of course, the forms of which are to be gone through with, and a certain amount of money distributed iu premiums, quite a proporliou of which really goes for accidental products, for which the competitor is entitled to little, or no credit. '•After a few years," he continues, "the interest abates, and finally there comes to be mainly a scramble among the competitors for the money distributed in premiums. The reports of commit- tees grow less and less interesting and suggestive, and at last, all that is expected, even of a commit- tee, is the bare announcement of the premiums awarded, without comment, and are of little or no use to anybody except the recipients." This is plain language, is as truthful as plain, and we thank the gentleman for his bold utterance. It should secure the earnest attention of the Board to this important matter. It is worse than useless to continue the old practices any longer. They not only do no good, but have corrupting influences, which are paid for by taxes laid upon the people. Let them be ar- rested at once, and some new modes introduced. As it is easier to pull down, than to raise up, we will suggest a plan for progression. The one great thing in the way, as suggested by the Legislative committee and the member of the Board of Agriculture whom we have quoted, is the ivant of intercut. They are right. How can this be secured ? It is only a comparatively small portion of the people of any county — even among the farmers — who take a decided interest and par- ticipate in the aff"airs of the county society. This interest can be awakened and sustained at small cost. Let a society receiving $G00 bounty, ap- propriate one-third of that amount, annually, in holding meetings in each town in the county, or at least, in the leading agricultural towns. Sound, practical men should be selected to attend these meetings and orally address them — and what is still more important, they should possess the genius to induce their hearers frequently to ad- dress each other. These speakers themselves should have an experimental knowledge of farm operations, should be genial and afi^able ])er3ons, and have that peculiar tact to "draw all to them," which some so eminently possess. The meetings should have something of the character of our Teachers' Institutes. They should be formally an- nounced, and the leading minds in the locality es- pecially called upon to aid in fully securing the objects of the plan. An hour's lecture will not do — the entire day and evening should be occu- pied— the subjects to be discussed announced be- forehand, and the exercises conducted systemati- cally. No single flint produces fire. Few isolat- ed farmers progress, but a contact like this will make the sparks of thought fly. These meeting* must not be confined to men — their wives and children must be there also. Briefly, these are our views in this matter. They have been put in practice in another State, with the most satisfiictory results. One winter's labor of this kind will secure the interest that now lies dormant, and accomplish more good than all the societies have accomplished for the la.st five years. When the pioneer work is done, there will be multitudes ready to listen to the chemist and philosopher, and after tliem to enter the agri- cidtural college. For the Pieir England Farmer. •WOOL GROWING. Professor Owen defines wool to be "a peculiar modification of hair, cliuracterised by fine trans- verse or oblique lines, from two to four thousand in the extent of an inch — indicative of a minutely imbricated scaly surface, wlien viewed under the microscope ; on which, and on its curved or twist- ed form, depends its remarkable felting pro])erty, and its consequent value to manufacturers." The professor is mistaken in estimating the val- ue of wool for general manufacturing jiurposes as dependent on the "imbricated sealy surface" of tlie fibre, and tne number of '"fine transverse or ob- lique lines, in the extent of an inch. "Bulli of these principles greatly add to llie value of wool for fuUimj and fdling ; but these are not the most valuable pro])erties of wool, neither are they the most common, nor are they produced alike in but few cases of fleeces. Many fibres of wool, even fine and silky, have but little of the barbed prin- ciple, consequently they will full and felt l}ut poor- Iv, and they are the more valuable for that, par- ticularly where the garments made are often wash- ed. These barbs or scales will vary on the same sheep in different years, and at different periods of the same yeai-, by the treatment and food of 164 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May the sheep. There is also an unevenness and ir- regularity about the length of tke scales, accord- ing to the food, the exercise and health of ths sheep, as also a difference of the condition of the '"■yolk" or greasy substance surrounding and per- vading the interior of the fibres of the wool, which affect the fineness and coarseness of the fibre, and its adaptability to secure and receive color. All these differences affect the value of the wool to the manufacturer, as well as help deceive him in the purchase of wool. The shrinkage of wool is the bane of the manufacturer; no two fleeces shrink tdike, and the mistakes made in selections of wool, from not being able to determine these differences in its condition, have ruined more wool- en manufacturers in New England than all other causes combined. Even the best and most skilful woolen manufacturers have never been able to cal- culate, with any certainty, the real cost of goods beforehand, from the fact that they could seldom rely on an average shrinkage on wool which could be estimated by samples. These difficulties can be better understood by the farmer than the man- ufacturer, and he can do more towards remedying the evil. The proper care of the sheep will pro- duce good fleeces and of uniform quality of wool. Few people get the true value of the sheep's pro- duct, or rather what might be the product, for want of pro])er care. A distinguished gentleman told me a few days since, that while visiting a brother v,ho had a large flock of sheep in New Hampshire, he was told that a widow lady in the neighborhood had a flock of but half the size of his brother's, and of the same kind of sheep, from which she got as much wool as came from his brother's whole flock, and that his brother frankly admitted that the reason was the widow tended her sheep better, and thus got more wool and lamljs than he did. Now this principle is undoubtedly correct. Be kind to your sheep and teach them never to fear you, but on the contrary to follow you, as do the sheep in Spain when on their long marches. See, in win- ter, that they have proper housings, proper food and water, and ]n-oper exercise ; the latter princi- ple being applicable to all stock on the farm. Sheep, more than most any other domestic ani- mals, have a confiding nature, and like attention ; are affectionate and are always happier and more contented when in sigiit of the flock tender. A little attention in this respect, even in New Eng- land, will promote the growth of sheep. Again, dogs, unless especially trained with sheep, should be kept from them. In the western part of Mas- sachusetts, it has been said that dogs killed more sheep than the butchers. In such cases, slaughter the dogs, and let the sheep live in peace. The profession of the farmer is undoubtedly the highest of all professions, and that of the shepherd is next. We need not fear the influence oi either. David of old was a shepherd boy, and after he as- cended the throne, he still kept up an interest in pastoral life, and had numerous flocks and herds. His devotional thoughts partook much of pastoral life. " The Lor?i is my shepherd ; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters." "Be thou dil- igent," says Solomon, "to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. The lambs are thy clothing, and the goats are the price of thy field, and thou shalt have goat's milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance of thy maidens." We may honor the profession of sheep-raising and wool-growing ; yea, we may also be proud of the manufacture of wool ; nothing has been accom- plished by the American farmer, or his wife, more favorable to his New England character than that of the domestic manufacture of wool and flax. When the mothers and sisters carded, spun and wove their wool and flax for domestic use, a work was accomplished greater than the saving of so much money. The labor was great, but the edu- cation gained was substantial. Such experience made hardy mothers, useful and accomplished daughters : fit, even, for all the higher accomplish- ments of refined life, and no way inconsistent with them. Said an old lady to me, a few years since, "I used to rise in the morning early enough to get my breakfast, dress the children and get my work done by daylight, so as to commence weaving as soon as I could see the thread in the shuttle." Such were the pioneer mothers of New England, who valued and honored sheep-raising, wool-growing and manufacturing, and their memory will be with us and in our history, as long as the virtues of our people shall find a record in the English language. s. M. A. Fur the New Ene uniform each year, or valuable in other luculities? Would not each graduate, when he came to liis farm, be obliged to elucidate new principles nuited to that farm itself? If .so, he would have si)cnt his time and money for nothing. There will be so many calls for the public money hereafter, tluit we should be careful that none is spent which is not absolutely necessary. Hence I submit that this grant (could it be so li.sed,) would be much better employed in paying the public debt, or endowing an a.sylum for the care and sup- port of maimed soldiers, than in attempting to teach what is well known in agricidture, or in mul- tiplying theories, of which we have too many al- ready. In this contemplated college, the superinten- dence of the management of fertilizers and the raising of croj)s, would probably l)e in the hands of the Professor of Chemistry, instead of some sunburnt farmer of years of practical experience. Hear what Prof. Voki.cki;k lately said iK-fore the Royal .^trritultural Society of England. This gen- tleman is himself Professor of Chemistry in the Cirencester .Agricultural College : "Ciiemistrj' should never be made the direct guide to the ag- riculturist. Science is, after all, only the syste- matic arrangement of well-authenticated facts, and the rising generation should be taught its general principles. But many |)rofessors of chemistry have overestimated their own powers, and instead of explaining the experience of practical men, they set themselves up as guides to the farmers ; they have overestimited the powers of the new science, and in consequence stumbled." In Great Britain, agricultural schools are the appendages of the landed aristocracy. Owing to the wealth and exalted position of the owners of the soil there, agriculture is more faiihionaMe, and more systematic, perhaps, than here ; and although in .Vmerica we do not farm it so highly, no one can say — while we feed ourselves and assist in sup- plying with food half the civilized world, besides giving ICurope as many hints as she does us — that our agriculture is a failure. It subserves its pur- pose, and always will, whether or not we have the doubtful aid of agricultural colleges. Compare the condition of the rural population of I'.ngbnd and the Continent with our own, and then ask whether we need the influence of their institu- tions, or they of ours ! If we had a public fund, whereby wo could in- stitute a .series of experiments in the r.iising of crops, it might be desiraljle. Our farmers, liow- ever, are now annually making various triaU in the ajiplicalion of manures, under the direction 166 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. May of the Board of Agriculture, or otherwise, and their results are presented to the farmer so that he can read them with little or no expense at his own fireside. Without giving our opinion on the value of these experiments, would an agricultural college, in this department, accomplish more ? A few years back, the Board of Agriculture had charge of the farm at the State Reform School, at Westboro'. Here a great variety of experi- ments were made in almost everything pertaining to the farm ; but that they were of any great val- ue does not seem to be conceded. At any rate, they are rarely alluded to. They found the soil, manui-et5, or the seasons, or all of them — as might have been anticipated — exceedingly capricious. On that spot they may have had more value than anywhere eise. It must be admitted, we think, that agriculture is yet a tentative, or experimental science, in spite of the researches of chemistry and the urgent wants of the farmer. And in the nature of things, how can it ever be otherwise ? Light, heat and moistui-e are so essential to maximum crops, that no farmer feels sure of the latter, however well he has fulfilled 7ii.s conditions. And the laws of meteorology are so various and so local, that it must be presumption to think c.f discovering them; and if known, we should not be able to meet them. A few geijeral principles only seem to be of real value in agriculture, and among these are, the proper pulverization of the soil, a good supply of manure, and the eradication of weeds. In regard to the proposed college, one fact is worthy of note, and that is the diversity of opin- ion of its friends in its fundamental organization. Mr. Emerson said it should not teach what is taught in any other school. Perhaps this would excite their jealousy. But how can it teach what it is required in the Act without infringing upon other institutions ? The Governor recommends ten professorships, and would be glad to add moi>e. This difference of opinion is very natural where its friends are ignorant of what the farm- ers really want and what they would patronize. Mr. Emerson said it ought to have a professor of Forestry, of Fish Culture, of Comparative Anat- omy, (!) of Entomology, and of Agricultural Chemistry. But would he exclude Botany and Geology, because they are taught in other institu- tions ? Gov. Andrew alludes favorably in his Address to the Bussey Institution, (yet in embryo,) and to the Institute of Technology, which Mr. Emerson says is a sure thing, while the Governor hopes it will be. The first of these is for the benefit of the farmer, but the other is designed to instruct everi/bodi/. This Institute has an organization of learned, wealthy and public spirited men ; it has a small room with a few models and minerals in it in Summer Street, Boston. It has had many preliminary meetings, and has issued circulars set- ting forth its very exteiisive objects. Thus far, it would seem, its operations (and perhaps for a good reason) have been confined to paper. But can it ever accomplish much with the unlimited range it takes, embracing everything in the arts and sciences, agriculture, commerce, political economy, &c. ? If every member had the heads and hands of Briareus, we think it must fail. While it aims to leach everything to everybody, will it not founder by really teaching noildng to anyhodij ? Should it have a museum, it may be worth looking at, although not very necessary, as all these wants are now well supplied — the farm- ers, certainly, having one at the State House. These great, universal institutions of learning — inflated, too often, with pride and pretence — sa- vor not a little of quackery, and bring to one's mind some astounding "universal medicine." Aiming at too much, they generally fail to satisfy the public ; whereas, by having a more confined and specific purpose, they might be worthy of ap- preciation. Look at the Smithsonian Institute at Washington. Has this been satisfactory in its operations and results ? This calls to mind the national Military School at West Point, which has a definite object, and must be regarded as a success ; for the art of kill- ing men is now the best and most honorable busi- ness ! But why a military department should be provided for in the national Act endowing indus- trial colleges, can only be accounted for by the belligerent attitude and patriotism of Congress at the time of its passage. Granting the importance of military schools, it does not logically follow that agricultural schools must be so. A farmer sends his son away to learn the art of war, because he has no means to teach him at home 5 and so of law, medicine and theol- ogy. And if he wishes hisuson to become a ma- chinist, he ]3uts him in a machinist's shop ; but if he wants him to learn farming, he keeps him at home, where he should be, on the farm. What West Point is to the one, this is to the other. I do not understand that the proposed college is primarily intended to make learned vien, but sim- ply model farmers. The highest state of knowl- edge, however, in this matter, will not make many young men such; you must add capital, the means to carry out the perfected ideas. A few years ago, an experienced farmer, a mem- ber of the Board of Agriculture, said at the State House, that he opposed a college "because we had no agriculture to teach." We have got, however, as much as other nations ; but what we have got, is best learned in the field. Some suppose that a college would elevate husbandry by exciting the interest of rich men's sons. I have an instance in point. A wealthy young man, a graduate of the Lawrence Scientific school, with much enthu- siasm, got his father to purchase him a farm near Boston, where he had a chemical laboratory erect- ed to aid him in his field operations ! Last year I inquired of his progress, when lo ! the whole thing had blighted ! Some suppose a college would supply well educated, svperlvtendlng farm- ers. But have we sufficiently large estates among us to make this encouraging ? Our New Eng- land land-owners usually oversee their own es- tates, and they might be not a little jealous of a college-educated farmer in buckram. An impor- ant branch of farm husbandry is the marketing department. This would not probably be well learned at an agricultural college, though it might have large fields for experimenting purposes. Can the State, at present, aff"ord to advance the funds for the lands for this institution, and erect the buildings at its own expense, as required ? And how long must it wait for the government realization ? Who shall control it, theoretical or practical men ? These questions are now agitat'* 1863. NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 167 ing its friends, and it is to be feared, if organized, it will be an apple of discord among learned pro- fessors and influential politicians, while an object of merriment to the practical farmer. Oa}< Cliff Cottage. Hortus. For the New England Farmer, STRAWBERRY CULTURE. Mr. Editor : — .\s the season for making straw- berry beds approaches, perhaps a few suggestions on the subject may be of service to some of your readers. The selection and preparation of the soil is the first thing to be attended to. A deep grav- elly, or sandy loam is considered best, though the strawberry may be grown on almost any soil that is not too wet. The best manures are decomposed vegetable matters composted with wood ashes, lime and salt, at the rate of 30 bushels ashes, 12 bush, of lime, and 3 bush, of salt to the acre. The manure should be thoroughly mixed with the soil before the plants are set. Carefully conduct- ed exi)erimcnts have led cultivators to reject ani- mal manures as too heating, if used on soils natu- rally warm. Pardee relates that his first success- ful experiment with the strawberry was on new land, which gave an enormous crop of fruit. In order to get a still lai'ger crop the next year, he forked in rich manure between the rows, and gave them the best of care, and obtained monstrous vines and blossoms, but no fruit. He then trenched a bed three feet deep, made it rich, and set out other plants. Tue result was the same — large vines, but no fruit. He removed a large part of the rich soil, and replaced it with sand, and the bed bore an abundance of the largest ber- ries the next season. The ripening of the crop may be hastened by the protection of a fence or hedge on the cold side, or by making the bed on a southern slope ; or retarded, on a northern slope. They will grow in shade, but sunshine improves the flavor of the berries. Soon after the first of May is the best time to transplant, if the ground is in good working order, and the sun not too hot. The soil should be fine- ly pulverized by repeated plowing and harrowing. The rows should be marked off four feet apart. The plants should be taken up carefully with a trowel, and be set as soon as possible, neither al- lowed to dry, nor to remain long in a large mass, for fear of heating. If they are brought from a distance, so as necessarily to shake oif all the dirt from the roots, they should be di]iped in thick muddy water before setting. The ])lants are usu- ally set from eight to twelve inches apart in the row. This should be regulated by the quality of the soil, and by the character of the plants. Where the soil is rich, or if the jjlants are free runners, the longest distance is preferable ; and, if both these conditions come together, a still greater distance would be advisable. The beds must be kejit clean, by the hoe and hand weeding on small beds, or by the horse hoe on larger fields. The full crop is not expected till the next year. When the runners begin to appear, it is well to guide them so as to fill up all the space you wish covered, and if they threaten to set too thickly, the runners may be pinched off. The plants should have room to grow, and not be allowed to stand nearer than eight or ten inches apart. Some leave a path open, for convenience in picking, about eighteen inches in width; others only twelve inches. In garden culture, or when it is conven- ient to keep the bed in the same place for a series of years, the rows are sometimes set six feet apart, and the runners allowed to cover one-half the ground, while the other half is kept open till the vines have fruited, when they are allowed to fill the open space, and the first bed is dug up and kept open ; and so alternating as long as it is found desiral)le, always dressing the oj^en space with suitable manure, and keeping it well tilled. But where there is plenty of suital)le land, culti- vators have adopted the ])'ractice of making a new bed every year, taking ofi' but one crop, and then plowing up the old bed. This is considered the most economical method, as it is very difficult to keep an old bed free from weeds, and frf)m be- coming too crowded by the setting of new plants by the runners. It is customary to protect the beds by a light covering of straw in the winter, to keep the plants from being lifted out of the ground by the frost. Some use a coarse swamp hay ; and a friend of mine in Belmont prefers sedge from the salt marsh, because it is not so hkely to blow away. Mr- Pardee strongly recommends mulching with tan bark, sawdust or green rowen, over the whole ground, immediately after the setting of the plants. If sawdust is used, it should be spread thinly, or there will be danger of mildew. My Belmont friend, mentioned above, whose soil is a strong clayey loam, practices al\erthe fol- lowing manner. He manures lightly with a com- post of horse manure, ploughing it in at the rate of from six to eight cords per acre, (has put on fif- teen cords ;) ploughs and harrows repeatedly till the soil is as fine as an onion bed. As a market fruit, he prefers Hovey's Seedling, and the Brigh- ton Pine. Sets in May, in rows four or five feet apart, twelve or eighteen inches apart in the row, according to the quality of the soil. One row of Brighton Pine, a staminate variety, to six of Hovey's Seedling, a pistillate variety ; taking care not to let them intermingle their runners. While the runners are setting, he goes over the field two or three times to fasten those that may be blown about by the wind. Keeps the bed clear of weeds the first year. Protects in the Aviuter by a mulch of swam]) hay or salt sedge, spread on lightly. In the spring he rakes this off", and cleans out all weeds that may have escajied his care the ])reced- ing summer. Paths are spaded between the beds wide enough to pass through and ])ick the fruit. Nothing more is done to the bed, l)ut wlien the fruit is off', it is ploughed up for other crops. I will not attempt, Mr. Editor, to name the best sorts. There are many varieties, mo'TE>'TS OF THIS >'niBER. Thoactts sn^Bsted by May Page 137 Time for Heifers to Come in 1-S8 ChiM-I-ife Atdcds ihe Be<:hnai:as 13S IUi1rv-%'U of Massschtiierts. 133 K:-' ■- - ~ —r;e-.ro:?^t?benLte>iforthe Pnrsnitsof Life. ...140 Pr TTT Tree? — Tarn from Milkweed. 141 fai^ ~ ■ ,. -^ '.'Tertased 141, 147, lo3 The « ii Farsa-Hocse — BtKivers near Sacramento 142 XewTi.v.rs 143,149,156 j-^ - w ---.pck— Fidelity of a Pog 143 ■W ::.r= — Onr Northern Firmers. 144 Tr . 'rnaiaect and Profit 145 Ex '.^s 146. lC2,lo8 O - .V.-maAs 147 F^r -:— Label for Fruit Trees 147 Fr.'i^r - .. i^ares 14? Savet^- B-ones 149 Wool 'rrosing 150, 1*5 Mapi- S^gar— Little Thln^ 151 Lejirixivo AgTiC'lnira! iltefisg? 152, loS Eajfsinz Ca'-v«: — Preserving Plant Cctacss loo Th - -^i."^ 7 155 Br 1S6 C: ■ -ha-e— Health; Oct Feet liT Me:>:r . . •— ... i.trcord forFebmarr i:,7 If we kne? 35S Experliaents in Feedicc Pigs 160 Best Tim? to Feed Grain to Sheep 160 Price of Jlilk — Wcmea widi Rakcs ai:d Spades 161 Schooler's Patent Iceberg P.efri?erator ICl An Agriculmral CoUess 162 Listener a: tic State Hoose, No. 2 1^ Stra »^b^ rrr C- 1 ;c re 137 Review of the Marfeet 16S ILLUSTRATIOXS. Initial Letter 137 Scho<-jl'-T"s Pstent Icelserg Kefrigeratcr 161 CATTLE T.TARTTZxS F03 APKTT,. The iolloTiitig is a soiainiuy of iJif> reports for the lour weeks ending April 16, lSd3: >X3iBEP. AT IIAKKET. Cczi'e. Snfep. Sn-Jes. Fat Hogt. Feai: lfarch25 1565 3228 22-3 — l.jO April 1 1612 3115 3.» — 300 " 9 1041 321)1 12>X» — 4(-0 " 16 1250 1726 liXO 4C0 000 Total .S433 11^*3 2775 400 1450 The f ?!!owjje table exhibits the number of cattle and sheep from each State for the last fotir weeks, atd for the correspotid- ing fo^r freeks last rear ; also the loiil number for tie first six- teen w^ks of t-ath J ear: TEI3 TEAS. tAST TEAB. Cattle. Slieep. Cattle. SJieejt. Maine 347 — 4Sl — Xew HimpiUre 663 3149 £.50 2013 Vermont 12S3 4S72 8i4 6393 Massach-Oiett; 513 J64-3 603 1S38 Nonhcm Xew York. 23 ZSOj ,„ Canada 46 175 j ^"" ~ Western States ■2rAi 1149 2406 250 Total, last foir week?, 5.4cS 11.2&3 4.774 :o,.y>4 Total, since Jan. 1^15 wits.) 23,762 44,515 19,599 43,652 PRICES. itfar.26. ^fpr.l. Apr.'i. Apr.Xi. B€ef,l;t,2d fcSdqnaL 6JS5i 6^38^ 7 59 'laS " a few extra 8iS9i 8|a9 9ig9.i »Ja93 Sheep and lambs, ¥* lb SJa&J 84a9| 7 g9 7 g9 Swis^. stores, wh'sale..... .9 ^6 5|»6| 3 ^6 3 g6 I" " retail ..^h'^ 6157^ 5^57 6 §7 Hidef, ^Ib 8 a3| 8 gSJ 8 gSJ 7^58^ Pelts, each, %\ §44 $4 544 $3iS3J $3 @3J TaUow, ^& 8Ja9 8Jg9 8 S8i 8 aSi BEt«ES.— The change in prices of cattle and sheep has been greater daring the past four weeks than daring any eqtial nom- [ ber of weeks for the last year, if not for several years. For the ! first week, we reported an advance '.f about fjC»? ft. on beef; a ' gain that was lost the next week ; and yet pri;es are 75c ^ cwt. ! higher at the close of the month than at its c^icuencement. A few of the very choicest extra aud premiums are sold at 19c ^ ffi).. and very little beef fit to eat has cost Wss than Sc ^ fi>., for the last two weeks. Hides and tallow hive also declined in price, and calf skins may be reponed as dull. Dnrins the fall and winter the butch- ers hare been able to sell the hiae ard tallow for more ^ &. than they paid on the dressed weight of their cattle ; but fjr the last month they have generally paid more ^ tt>. for the best catJe than their hice and tallow are worth in market, — a change of no little consequence to the butcher. Sheep re^thel the highest point on the scale of prices, the first week of the ttrm, when a few lots sold tor loc ^ ft. Smce then prices have d-.-clmed from one to tiro ceiit~ V* il>- on the live weight : in consequence chiefly of pelts failing in value about one dollar ami fifty cents each. Some of the butchers argue that there is little probability that sheep will c )mmand much higher prices than those paid the past two K^eeks. They say that the country is full of shetrp, and that, in cons< quence <^ to 10c, with a lively niarket, which does not look much like veri^-ing the foregoing prediction. For several months past the Vermont Central stock cars have reacherl the market by way t f th^ Fitchborg, instead of the Low- ell Railroad. This change has e.tcited a spirit of competition l)etween the two routes, so that the stock on both routes has ar- rived at Cambridge early Tuesday nmrnicg. Aliliough there is no-ninally no chatige in the markit day, there is practically a radical change in the ince of bu>ii>es3. At present, the traile at Cambridge is mostly done Tuesday lorenooa. .-Vf^cr dinner a part of the drovers who have any stock unsold start at once for Bnghton, while others rtcicin an hour or two, awl thsrn start for Brighton, or put up their stock in Cambridge. Icr several weeks there has been no market at Canibridge on Wednesday. At Brighton most of the Western ctinle are sclj Tuessxr. Another puir. fill by A. & ' E. .\m2rews, of Sheibame, weighed 4SC0 tt>?. at liome, and were fit OjmpanioDS ct the premium s.eer^.althcagh soujcwhat older. Saunders & Hartwell ti>fk these bullocks at ICc ^ fc. Mr. Jones soM 5 other erand eood o:cen,laid at 12-jO fiis. each, at fi^ic, and Sl.i!dllOOfcs.,Oo.' JIann, Thaver & I.^athers soil to O. Lynde 2 oxen fed by C, W. Bragg, Warren, Vt., laid at 22C0 Bs.. for $200. Hosea Gray sold just 1 pair of oxen to X. s. S. Jackson at 9c I ^ ill. His other stock fit fir beef was sold by dollars at rates varving from that price down to 7c ■{? ft. 1 E. W. Baker sold 2 oxen to Mr. Jewett, 2443 fts., f )r "Kc, 37 sk. ; 2 weidiing 3000 lbs., for 7i,c, 36 sk. ; 4 weiehing 2700 &s. ' ^ pair, f3r''8c, Y^ sk. : 2 weighing 2650 tbs., for S.'ic,^; sk. ; 2 to .*. G. Carter, weighing SOuOfts., for 8c, >^ sk. ; 1 cow, laid at I 500 Bs., for $30. D. A. Philbrick bad two pairs of oxen this week laid at 1100 I Bs. ea'.h, which he said were such as farmers in his section be- : liere to be K. ; O. L. Miner sold 30 of his drove, weighing I 100 lbs. each, for 8;^c ; E. W. Baker sold to J. W. Hollis 10 se- lected cossets, weighing at Cambridge 1370 fcs., or 137 each, 1 for 9>ic ^ lb. U'r±._> -U AiJi'.^L'^ J TUBE ASD ITS KINDRZD aHTs A^D SLii.NCES. TOL. XT. BOSTON, JUXE, 18»33. yo. 6. XOrRSE, E.4T0S' fc TOLSLO.", PEOpanTES. Oftice I'M Washisgtos Sibxet. SDfOX BBOW, Ei>rr«». JTJITB. ••How lorely how channinz ha? nature t*?n made. The hill in the sunshine, the wali in the shade ; The wild rose adomine the hetice with iu blxim. And loading the air wiih the t^rfume of Jane. How green are the meadow?, how bright is the mom, " How glitter the dew-drc.ps on laorel and 'Lhom ; How pearly and pore is the briar in bloom. How lorely the Sowers that Wossom in Jane." Y the operations of' the laws of nature, JoTE. lovely June, — the Month of roses, — a?ain opens upon us, with all its new scenes, new sounds and new employments. With- out these agreeable I changes, life would be- come one monotonous and gloomy road to the grave ! But the wise and good Father has not left us to such a fate. His mercies are not alone in the reyolving seasons, but are "every morning and evening new," — every hour, indeed, crowning our lives with fresh proofs of his love, if we will but listen to his voice, and study the pages every- where so amply unfolded to us. Now, Summer has come, and opens to us a new volume — just as new as though it never had been opened before. Let us observe some cf its won- derful productions. When June opens, "Spring may be considered," says a beautiful English writer, "as employed in completing her toilet, and for the first weeks of this Month, putting on those last finishing touch- es which an accomplished beauty never trusts to any hand but her own. In the woods and groves, also, she is still clothing some of her noblest and proudest attendants with their new annual attire. The Oak. until now. has been nearly bare ; arii. ? whatever age, has been looking eld all the "^' and Spring, on account of its crumpled br_: and wrinkled rind. Xow, of whatever age, it k>oks young, in virtue of its new green, lighter than all the rest of the grove. Now. also, the stately Wal- nut, standing singly or in pairs, puts forth its smooth leaves slowly, as "sage, grave men" do their thoughts ; and which over-caution recoocfles one to the beating it receives in the automn, as the best means of at once compassing its present fruit, and making it bear more. The \\'heat, the Oats, the Barley, and even the early Rye, have not yet b^rome tingtd with their harvest boes> They are all alike green ; and the only change that can be seen in their appearance is that caused by the different lights into which each is ihrowiv as the wind parses over them- The patches of pur- ple or of white Clover that intervene here and there, and in flower, offer striking exceptiocc to the above, and at the same time load the aii with sweeuicss. Nothing can be more rich and beau- tiful ia its effect on a distant prospect at thb sea- son, than a great patch of purple Clover l}"iag ap- parently motionless on a sunny upland, encom- passed by a whole sea of green grain, waving and shilling about it at ever}- breath that blows.*' The hay-harvest, which the same writer so beau- tifully pictures, has been greatly changed, both here and in England, since be wrote the fuliowing description: — "The Hay -harvest, besid» filliiig the whole air with its sweetness, is even m't • turesque in the appearances it offers, as -v more pleasant in the associations it than the Harvest in .\utumn. Wha: succession of pictures it presents ! "First, the Mowers, stooping over their scyth*'*. and movir.gwith measured paces thioagh the t::r- ly morning mists, interrupted at intervals h\ the freshening music of the whetstone. Then — blithe companions of both sexes, ranged ia regular amy, and moving lengthwise and across the Meadows, 170 NEW ENGLAND FARMER. June each with the same action, and the ridges rising or disappearing behind them as they go : "There are forty mming like one !*♦ What an attractive picture of healthy, happy la- bor, in the pure, fresh air, made fragi-ant by the world of flowers which are fed and fanned by it ! Such a scene, undoubtedly, may be still witnessed around English homes, as it may in our own New England, but it cannot be denied that the intro- duction of labor-saving machinery has deprived rural life of some of its romance and charms. In the midst of the hay-harvest here, we may travel far and not see the "Mowers, stooping over their scythes, and moving with measured paces through the morning mists." Hand-mowing is aided by the morning dews, but it retards the machine. The hoe is now the implement in use while the dew is sparkling, instead of the scythe ; — but whe n the dews are exhaled, and the grasshopper sings in the burning sun, then may be heard all over the neighborhood, the sharp click, click, — click, click, click, of the Mowing Machine, prostrating the standing grass at the rate of one or two acres per hour ! spreading it as it goes ! Then, towards night follows the Horse-rake, and the evening pre- sents a village of haycocks with their white caps on, resembling an encampment of soldiers. But the advantage is certainly on the side of the machine, — it does the work quick and well, saves a vast amount of human toil, and leaves us at liberty — if we but have the disposition — to walk leisurely in the living fields, or among the beautiful and instructive trees, and grow wise and happy in the contemplation of the wonderful de- velopments everywhere around us. June is the Month of Roses — loveliest of all the Flowers. "What can be more enchanting to look upon than this newly-opened Rose of Prov- ence, looking upward, half shamefacedly, from its fragile stem, as if just awakened from a happy dream to a reality ! It is the loveliest Rose we have, and the sweetest — except this by its side, the Rose-unique, which looks like the image of the other cut in marble. This surely is the loveliest of all Roses — except the White Blush Rose, that rises here in the centre of the group, and looks like the marble image of the two former. You see, its delicate lips are just becoming tinged with the hues of vitality, and it breathes already, as all the air about it bears witness. Undoubtedly this is the lovehest of all Roses — except the Moss Rose that hangs flauntingly beside it." Lovely June — most fertile of all the Months ! Now the whole tribe of Geraniums is out, and every passer by nips a leaf — rubs it between the fingers, and then throws it away. Pinks shoot up their hundred-leaved heads — Sweet Williams lift up their bold, but handsome faces, the Columbine dan- ces to the breeze, the yellow Globe-Flower flings up its balls of gold into the air, the Lupines spread their wings for flight, the Mignonette begins to make good its pretty name, and the princely Pop- py, the starry Marigold, the little Pansy, the pret- ty Pirapernell, and "the dear little blue German- der loill spring up, unasked, all over the Garden, and you cannot find in your heart to treat them as weeds." June claims that its peculiar duties shall be du- ly attended to. We will not interrupt the train of thought just now indulged in by alluding to them here, but will endeavor to anticipate them, a few at a time, as we jog along from week to week. NEW BOOKS. Holly's Cocntry Seats: containing Lithographic Designs for Cottages, Villas, Mansions, &c.,with their accompanying out- buildings. Also, Country Churches, City Buildings, Railway Stations, &c., &c. By Henry Hudson Holly, Architect. New York : D. Appleton & Co. For sale by A. Williams & Co., Boston. Within a few years, several excellent works on architecture have been published, so that there is really no good reason why any more awkward, inconvenient and unsightly buildings should be erected for the accommodation of either man or beast. Any of these to which we refer, may be purchased for less than three dollars, and if the person building only a thousand dollar house or barn should thoroughly study one of them, he would be quite likely to save, in the cost of con- struction, more than three times the cost of the work. The work before us contains designs for almost every class of building, and with a cost ranging from $800 to $10,000. Any person about build- ing will certainly find it for his interest to consult this, or some similar work. Profits of Fruit Culture. — It is stated in an exchange paper that E. Lake, of Topsfield, Mass., gathered from one acre — of Baldwin and russet apples two hundred barrels, at four dollars, besides one and a half tons of marrow squashes and one hundred heads of cabbages, one of which weighed twenty-seven pounds ; also that a lady in Gainstown bought eight acres of worn-out, stony land, at forty dollars an acre, and set it out in an orchard at an expense of two hundred dol- lars. She cropped it every year, cleared two hun- dred dollars a year, and at the end of six years af- ter the purchase refused twenty-five hundred dol- lars for the field. There are hundreds of thous- ands of acres of land in our Northern, Eastern and Middle States, now stony, barren, worn-out and useless, which would yield a crop worth hun- dreds of dollars per acre, with a little enterprise and a small outlay on the part of the owners. Oranges. — The California Farmer states that a Dr. Strentzel has succeeded in raising excellent oranges in the open air in that State. Col. AVar- ren has no doubt they can be produced in any part of the State. 1S63. XEW ENGLAND FARMER. 171 EXTKACTS AND REPLIES. FLAX CULTUKE — HEDQES^OFFEE. I notice that the inadequate supply of cotton has awakened the cultivators of the soil to the importance of raisins a larger amount of (lax. Napoleon the First, in liis rciiin, saw the necessity of a larirer breadth of land lieinj; devoted to that staple, and offered a gra- tuity of one million of francs to that producer who sowed the most acres and raised the finer varieties. I saw one farmer that planted a liedge of hemlock to protect his newly set out orchard, and I should judge, Ity the thrift that the trees indicated, that he was amply repaid for his trouble. I read In the books that the East India Company bought 2 llis. and 2 oz. of coffee as a present for the King in 1064. It was first used to gratify the palate of the royal family; but ere long it became an article used in almost every family. In 1732, the duty on coffee was 2s. a pound. But those who now procure the pure and use it in preference to that which is bet- ter, cold water, growl when it can be bought at the price which was exacted then as a duty. To those I would say that a few red oak acorns give to the rye coffee a better flavor. s. p. m. April, 1863. A CORN BAKN. I would like to inquire through the Farmer the best way to build a corn barn. Is the soutti side as good for drying corn as any? Would corn dry if husked and put into narrow bins, with grates on each side and bottom, with the bin raised a few inches from the tloor, without si;siding to the outside of the rr>om ? Keene, .V. H,, April, 1863. J. W. Nye. Remarks. — There is no one particular form for a corn barn Itetter than all others, to our knowledge. A cheap building, 15 or 20 feet long and 10 to 15 feet wide, is a good form. It is better that it should not be connected with any other building, and it should stand on posts, and every paius be taken to keep rais and mice out. In a building something like the one suggested, the bins may be on every side, if it is desired, and the corn will dry, and keep well, if it was ripe when it was put into the bins. The space l)etween the slats should not be more than half an inch in width. Where the building was sufficientlj' wide, we have seen bins on the sides, and one made of slat work extending the whole length of the floor in the centre, and was in- formed that the corn kept as well there as on the sides. HORSE PITCHFORK — APPLE WHISKEY. "Will you inform a subscriber to your valuable pa- per if a horse pitchfork, for unloading hay in barns from a load, can be purchased in Boston, and as to their being efftcient and a labor saving implement ? as I am to cut quite an arnotmt of hay this year as per contract, I»esides my own. Also, if apple whi-^key can be made at a profit, if ci- der is ^'2 per bbl., and freight to New York 40 cents, owning a mill and power r Oli> Essex. Remarks. — We have been expecting to publish an illustratiim of Palmer'.'J Excelsior Horse Pitchfork, but as the engraving does not come, we will state that Messrs. Pal.mer & Wackekhage.v, of Greenville, Greene county, N. Y., have the horse pitchfork, and will be likely to give any information asked for in re- lation to it. We have no definite knowledge of the cost of mak- ing apple whiskey. Many years ago it used to be made by farmers in a very simple manner, and at small cost. HOOTS FOR SHEEP. W^ill you inform through the Farmer of the best and cheapest root to rai.se for feeding sheep, especially breeding ewes? One most conducive to the well be- ing of the sheep and growth of wool. What quantity of the same may be fed to advantage as a substitute for hay and grain ? h. p. l. Hurrisburg, Vt., April, 1863. Remarks. — We think the cheapest and best root to cultivate for feeding to sheep is the mnnriold ucurtzel. It is hardy, grows quick, is easily cultivated and har- vested, and is palatable and wh(jIcsomc for the sheep. It also yields large crops per acre. A variety of roots might l)e better, perhaps, such as an occasional mess of carrots, ruta baga, flat turnip, or the white or red beet. But the mangold is the root, in our opinion, mainly to be relied upon. NURSERIES. We have no means of complying with the reqncBt of "P. S.," of West Gloucester, in relation to the nur- series of the United States. RAPID GROWTH IX A PIQ. I notice in the Farmer of the 4th of .\prll, nn ac- count of a pig, slaughtered by Mr. How, of Gill, which, to say the least, is a marvel. At 9'a months, say 285 days, it dressed 525 lbs.,— an increase of almost two pounds per day, from the day of its birth ! I must acknowledge this exceeds everything I have heard of before, and I doubt its match is not often found. One and one-fourth pound is all I have ever been able to make myself, and L'j lbs. per diem the highest I have known of previo